Ace
by Lil Bre
Summary: Link's life turns obtuse when he shelters a handicapped puppy. Trink, Penweed, CornBelle
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is my first Hairspray fanfic, so I'm excited about writing it. Be patient with me cuz I have rare updates and stuff like that. Enjoy the story!**_

_**Disc**__**l**__**aimer: Don't own Hairspray. Why would I be writing this if I owned Hairspray?**_

Chapter one:

Link Larkin walked down the street one evening from the Turnblad residence. He was on cloud nine after he spent the even with Tracy and her family. He felt like nothing can ruin this night.

But soon enough, his life was about to take an alternate route. As he was a few blocks away from his house, he notices a bunch of the neighborhood boys were gathered near the wall laughing and having a good time. As he walked past the group, he noticed what they doing; the boys were kicking, throwing rocks, and poking a stick at a stray puppy. Mortified, Link pushed past the boys and forced them to stop.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Link scolded. He looked down at the down-trotted animal and instantly noticed that it only had three legs. He scooped it up in his arms and gave a glare to the children.

"That thing doesn't deserve to live," one f the boys spoke up. "Look at it. It has three legs!"

"So?! That's doesn't mean anything!" Link looked down at the dog, who was still breathing rather shallowly. He noticed he had long floppy ears, light brown fur, and a few bruises from the abuse he received from the neighborhood children. Since Link doesn't know much about animals, but he knew that that was a bad sign for a dog. He ignored the boy's random rants about the dog and he carried it to his house.

When he went inside he noticed that all of the lights were off so he knew that neither of his parents was home. Link went to the living room and laid the puppy on the carpet near the couch. The dog let out a small groan as it felt the carpet underneath him. Link went to the laundry room and found a few dirty towels for the dog to lie on. He walked back and noticed that the puppy had finally opened his eyes and was staring directly at the teenage heartthrob. The puppy then started to slowly get up and walk towards the door. But when it made its third step, it fell on its face.

"Whoa!" Link rushed to the puppy and picked it up. He then carried him (now that he found out the gender was), back to the spot where he laid him but with dirty towels for him to rest on. The dog continued to stare at Link with his big ocean blue eyes until the boy disappeared into the kitchen. The puppy got up from the towels and went into the kitchen as well. As soon as he made it to the door entrance, he tripped over his ears and once again fell face first on the floor.

"Again?" Link rushed to pick the dog up, but he already got up again and walked to Link's side. He continued to look up at Link and his wagged his tail. "I guess you know what you're doing." Link then brought a plate of chicken down to the floor in front of the puppy. The animal hungrily ate the chicken within seconds and when he finished he looked back up at Link happily. When Link walked back to the living room, he followed obediently and sat at his feet when Link sat down on the couch. Link smirked and began to rub the puppy's head.

"I like you. Maybe I can keep you." Link smiled as he picked the puppy up to his lap. The puppy obliged and instantly fell asleep. As Link continued to rub the dog's head, he remembered that he was going to call Tracy and have their usual phone conversations until the late hours of the night.

_She'll understand,_ he thought, _I hope she doesn't worry herself about me not calling._ He couldn't move because he was afraid that he would wake the ace up.

"Yeah, that's what I'll call you. Ace." Link grinned at Ace as he continued to sleep. Soon enough, Link drifted off to sleep with the dog still snoozing in his lap.

A little later, Mrs. Larkin walked into the living room and noticed Link and the puppy sleep on the couch. Not wanting to wake them, she quietly walked across the living room and returned with a blanket. She draped it over him and kisses him softly on top of his head and she went off to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Wow… people actually liked my story… COOLZ X3 Well, here's the next chapter! **_

_**Oh yea! I forgot to mention which leg was missing. Silly me :P Ace's front right leg is the one that's missing. There, now I feel better :D**_

_**DISCLAIMER: This is the last time I'm gonna say it. I don't own Hairspray and I never will unless I'm somehow related to John Waters (which is almost impossible T T)**_

Chapter 2

Link rose from his position on the couch. He looked outside and noticed that it was finally morning. When he tossed the blanket off of him, he noticed that Ace was no longer with him. He looked around the room and there was no sign of the dog.

_Oh shoot, my parents don't even know about him yet,_ Link thought panickily. He got off the couch and began his search for Ace. He worked his way upstairs all the back to the living room but there was no sign of the puppy. Then he heard a feminine voice coming from the kitchen. _Oh dear God… _Regaining his composure, Link casually walked into the kitchen where his mother was making breakfast.

"Good morning sweetie," Mrs. Larkin greeted with a smile on her face as she continued to mix the batter that was in the bowl.

"Morning Ma," Link smiled back and he sat at the kitchen table. He began to look underneath and around the table to make sure that Ace wasn't in here. _What if he got out?_

"I noticed that you slept on the couch last night. Care to explain?"

"Uhh…" Link began to think up a lie as quickly as he could, "I was too tired to make it to my bed so I decided to just crash on the couch for the night." As he continued to look around he spotted a tail wagging near the counter very close to his mother's feet. He then heard a thud. _He fell on his face…._ Link let out a small chuckle at his pet's clumsiness. Then he suddenly realized that Ace was near his mother and he knew she'd freak out about a stray animal running in the house. So Link walked to the other side of the counter and spotted Ace. He also noticed that he was way lighter with white on his paws and black on the tip of his tail and he looked a lot cleaner than he did last night. The puppy jumped with joy and ran, but not before tripping once more, towards Link. Link picked him up and carried him in one arm.

"I gave him a bath this morning, Link," Mrs. Larkin said. "He was covered with fleas and ticks and Lord knows what else." Link's shoulder slouched as he gave his mother the "You-already-knew-and-you-didn't-tell-me-you-knew?!" look. "Link Oliver Larkin (Hehe…. LOL. I couldn't help it XD), why would you bring a three-legged stray into this house without neither mine nor your father's permission?"

"Ma, it was a split second decision." He then went on to explain what the neighborhood kids were doing to Ace and that he couldn't stand that they would do such a thing to an innocent creature. "Does Pop know?"

"Yes he knows." Link shuddered to the thought of what his father thought of him bringing Ace home. He knew that he wouldn't go for it considering that Link has never had a pet since he accidently killed the family cat when he was 3.

"Do you think we can keep him?" Link looked at his mother hopefully.

"I don't know Link, look at him. He's going to have to go to the vet, someone needs to feed him, and plus he needs to learn how to walk right…."

"I can do all that! I'll use my paycheck to feed him and take him to get check-ups. Plus look at him. How can you say 'no' to this face?" He winced when Ace began to chew on his thumb.

"I don't know Link…" she sighed. She turned around and saw that Link was giving her the puppy eyes and was sticking out his bottom lip. _Oh no… please don't! _She thought. _He hasn't pulled that look off since he asked me to go to the amusement park with him. Well, I'm not going to fall for it! As long as he doesn't say-_

"I love you mommy." Those words made Mrs. Larkin's heart completely melt. _Curses, why did I have a son that no one can say 'no' to?!_Even when he turns 65, that look would probably still work on many people.

"Alright, he can stay. As long as you talk to your father about this and you take good care of him." Link jumped and cheered as he rushed to his mother and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks Ma! You won't regret it!" Link placed Ace on the floor and the two of them went to Link's room, with Ace tripping on his ears as they went.

"That dog sure is clumsy…" Mrs. Larkin shook her head as she started cooking the batter in a skillet.

When Link and Ace went in his bedroom, Ace began to sniff around and explore the new territory. Link just smiled at the puppy as he went under the bed. When Link passed his mirror, he stared in shock of what his hair has come to. His hair was sticking out in every direction and his signature curl was lop-sided. He decided to shower and change clothes before he decided to do something about his hair. When he left to go to the bathroom, he made sure to close the door so that Ace wouldn't escape. After about half an hour or so, he returned looking like the Link Larkin everybody knew and loved. As he was going down the hall, he heard the doorbell ring and yelping and whining coming from his room. Knowing that his mother was downstairs, Link rushed to the door to find Ace right at the door and when he swung it open, Ace, once again, fell on his face.

"Link, you have a visitor!" Mrs. Larkin called from downstairs. Link and Ace went started to head to the living room; but when they made it to the stairs, he looked at Ace and realized that he would hurt himself going downstairs. He picked him up and continued down the steps. When he made it to the bottom step, he put the dog down and they continued to the kitchen. There he saw his best friend, Seaweed, eating pancakes and eggs and his mother making a couple of more plates for Mr. Larkin, and herself.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Mrs. Larkin," Seaweed said as he stuff another pancake in his mouth.

"Not a problem, Seaweed," Mrs. Larkin replied. At first, Mrs. Larkin was nervous about her son having a friend of another color, but once she got to know Seaweed he treated him like he was her own son.

"Good morning, Ms. Sunshine," Seaweed greeted as he finished his eggs.

"Good morning yourself. What are you doing here?" Link greeted as they exchanged their own special handshake. Seaweed then jumped out of his seat when he felt something cold touch the skin on his leg. He then looked down and noticed Ace looking up at the African-American and wagged his tail.

"When did you get a dog?" Seaweed asked. He bent down to pick Ace up and noticed quickly that he was missing his front right leg. "When did you get a three-legged dog?"

"I found him on my way back from Tracy's last- Oh geez! I forgot to call Tracy!" Link slapped his forehead for forgetting to call his girlfriend.

"Calm down Cracker Boy, I was heading over there anyways because I need to talk to both of you anyways."

"What about?"

"I need to know what to get Penny for our six month anniversary this Saturday," Seaweed replied as he winced as Ace started chewing on his finger.

As the two bid farewell to Mrs. Larkin, Link and Seaweed, which Ace in Seaweed's arms, hopped into Link's Chevy and drove to the direction of the Turnblad residence.

"So, what you're planning on getting her?" Link asked.

"I don't know, man," Seaweed admitted, "but it has to be something amazing. Something to ensure her that we're never going to be apart."

"I think Tracy will help out more than I can." They soon made it to the Hardy Har Hut and the home of the Turnblads. With Ace in his arms, Link walked up the steps and knocked on the door. Seconds later, Mrs. Turnblad answered with a surprised look on her face.

"Oh thank goodness!" Edna cried and she brought the boy into a tight embrace. Unfortunately for Ace, he was caught in the middle of the squeeze. "What happened? When we didn't hear the phone ring last night, we all thought that something has happened to you!"

"I'm sorry about that. I got sidetracked with him," Link apologized as he lifted Ace up to Edna.

"Ooh! Isn't he the most adorable thing you ever saw!" Edna practically squealed as she took the puppy and began to smother him with her love. "Both of you come in. Tracy should be down in a minute." With that the three of them entered the house and Link closed the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Okay, I noticed in the last chapter that it was mainly drabble. Sorry about that. Thanks for the reviews and everything :D Okay, let's start up this chapter!**_

Chapter 3

When Edna told the two boys to sit on the couch, she went down the hall to go get her daughter. They soon heard a squeal and a lot of words that neither Seaweed nor Link could understand, and they saw Tracy emerging from the hallway holding Ace close to her.

"Link, he's adorable! Where did you find him?" Tracy gushed over the three-legged animal as Ace began to chew on her finger.

"Man, does your dog love fingers or what," Seaweed commented. Link got up and went towards his girlfriend of five and a half months.

"I found him last night on my way home from your place. His name is Ace. Is he hurting you?" Link noticed Ace was gnawing deeply in Tracy's index finger.

"He's fine, Link. He's only teething," Tracy replied matter-of-factly. Link looked down dumbly because he doesn't know much about taking care of an animal. He looked at Tracy as she continued to coon over Ace and smiled. That's what he loved about Tracy; no matter who you are, what you looked like, or what you're been through, she will always treat you like you were just as normal as the next person. "So, is there a real reason you guys are here this early in the morning?"

"I need to know what to get Penny for our six-month anniversary," Seaweed spoke up.

"Oh right, it is this Saturday isn't it?"

"Yep, and I've been saving for a month now to be able to buy her something special and take her out someplace." Tracy placed Ace on the floor and put her index finger on her cheek.

"Hmmm…. Maybe you can get some sort of jewelry?" Seaweed suddenly perked right up.

"Yeah… yeah! I haven't given her that yet because I couldn't afford it then. Now I need to know a pace I can take her…." Seaweed sat back down on the couch and began to think. Link and Tracy joined him on the couch and thought as well. After a moment of thought, Link finally spoke up.

"I know of this place right outside of town that would be perfect for you guys to have dinner. As long as you have the money to pay for it, they don't care what color you are."

"Perfect!" Seaweed agreed. "Now the next thing I need from you guys is how to get Penny away from her psycho mother for the evening?" After the Miss Teenage Hairspray contest, Penny has been on extreme punishment by her mother, Prudy 'The Prison Guard' Pingleton. She has been forced to go straight from school to home everyday, and Prudy made an extra effort to come to the school and picked her up to ensure she is home. On occasion, Tracy would sneak by in the middle of the night to send her a bag full of her favorite lollipops and have a brief conversations about what he has missed. Weekly, Link would distract Mrs. Pingleton with having a discussion of the bible at the front door while Seaweed would go up Penny's bedroom and spend time with her. This has been going on for a few months now.

"That's going to be a problem," Tracy said as she picked Ace back up and began petting him, "Penny told me that her mother been checking up on her every hour recently."

"So our best bet is to get Mrs. Pingleton out of the house for a while…" Seaweed sighed desperately.

"Or Penny get out of the house for a while…" Tracy smirked as she turned to Link. Seaweed caught on and smirked at Link as well. Link looked up and stared back and forward at his girlfriend and best friend.

"…..What?"

Thursday evening, Link, Seaweed, and Ace drove up to the Pingleton's house.

"Are you sure it's going to work?" Link asked. "What if she won't let me?"

"Don't worry Cracker Boy, it's foolproof," Seaweed reassured. "Since you've been talking t her about the church and stuff every week, it'll be a complete surprise if she DIDN'T like you." Ace barked in agreement. "See, even your mutt agrees with me."

"Right…." Link took in a deep breath as he and Seaweed got out of the car. Ace jumped out too but Link immediately grabbed him and placed him back in the car.

"No Ace, you can't come." Ace looked at his owner confusedly. "Um… stay. Remember that word? Stay, Ace." Ace's puppy smile dropped and he sat in the passenger's seat. "Good boy. Stay." While Link walked up onto the porch of the Pingleton residence, Seaweed climbed up to Penny's window. Link took in a deep breath and rapped on the door. A minute passed ad Prudy came and answered the door.

"Oh, hello there Link," Prudy gave the teen a small smile. "You're usually here on Friday to discuss Psalms 26. What brings you here this evening?"

"This may seen such short notice Mrs. Pingleton, but I was wondering if your daughter Penny can accompany me on a small outing at my church Saturday evening. My mother mentioned it to me this morning and I thought that Penny would like to join me and my younger brother." Link explained in hopes that he believes her.

"I don't know young man, Penny is currently on punishment," Prudy said sternly.

"Please ma'am, this is a once in a lifetime holy, Christian experience that no teenager should miss. I promise you that she will come home a completely changed."

"Wait… how do you know my Penny anyways?"

"Uh… we go to the same school and… I have been meaning to ask her out on a date for a while," Link lied through his teeth for the second time. "And I knew better than to come and ask her parents for permission…. so… I can be on your good side, ma'am."

"I see…." Prudy stared at Link intensely until she headed back inside. "Wait here," she demanded before she closed the door in his face.

Upstairs, Seaweed was explaining to Penny how their plan on going out on their anniversary date was going to go.

"Oh Seaweed, you didn't have to go through all this trouble just to take me out on a anniversary date," Penny gushed as Seaweed held her in his arms. "We'll have plenty more anniversary dates."

"Don't worry baby," Seaweed kissed her forehead, "we have it all figured out. Just go along with the plan and everything will be fine." When he gave Penny a quick kiss on the lips, footsteps was heard outside the bedroom.

"Penny!" Prudy sung open her daughter's door.

"Yes mother?" Penny answered as she closed a book that she was supposedly reading. Prudy looked around her room suspiciously as if she knew what was going on.

"There's a boy downstairs, Link, that wants to ask you something." Penny looks down at Seaweed, whom has quickly hidden himself underneath her bed. Seaweed made the gesture to go downstairs.

"Alright," Penny got up from her bed and followed her mother to the front door. There she saw Link showing off one of his dashing smiles.

"Hey," was all Link said.

"Hi Link. My mom said you wanted to ask me something?" Penny made an eye gesture telling him to go on with the plan.

"Right! I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to an event at my church this Saturday."

"I would love to, but only if my mother gives me permission to attend such event." Penny and Link both looked Mrs. Pingleton, who gave a small nod of approve. Penny instantly perked up and hopped for joy. "Thank you mother!"

"Thank you so much Mrs. Pingleton," Link said. He turned his attention to Penny and asked, "See you at 4:30?"

"You bet on it!" Penny replied still gleaming with joy. With a nod towards Mrs. Pingleton and his famous Link Wink to Penny, he left the property, hopping into his car, and drove off. At the corner of the block, he spotted Seaweed behind a tree and stopped so he could hop in.

"She bought it?" Seaweed asked.

"Gonna pick her up at 4:30," Link answered with a proud smirk on his face.

"Yesss," Seaweed self-celebrated. "Oh and by the way…" When they stopped at a stop sign, Seaweed slapped Link across his hairspray-infested head.

"Ow! What the hell, Seaweed!" Link complained as his voice squeaked a little.

"That's for giving my girl that wink of yours." Seaweed then gave him a threatening/playful point and said, "Don't do it again."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Over a thousand hits already? Cool! I wasn't expecting a thousand til chapter 6 or 7. Thanks you guys! I'm happy you love my story :D**_

_**A reviewer asked me what Ace looked like. At first I was like, "What? I thought I gave a description." And then I looked back on my chapters and realized I gave very little detail about the puppy. Soo…. My bad. So here's a brief description of our little delight, Ace:**_

_**Light brown fur with white feet. Hair a darker brown on his back and on his extremely long, floppy ears. Black nose, a lighter color brown muzzle. White on the tip of his tail. Front right leg missing. **_

_**There. I feel better now :)**_

_**In this chapter, I'm gonna go off by letting Corny meeting Ace. Then next chapter will be the big date. Now that's gonna be a big chapter. I have it all up in my head and everything! Enjoy!**_

Chapter 4

Corny Collins walked into the employee lounge Friday evening. The show was finally over for the day and he can finally look forward to the weekend of rest, relaxation, and spending time with his big, blonde, and beautiful woman, Motormouth Maybelle. Thirsty, he looked into the company's refrigerator for something to drink. The only thing in there was a small, unopened, purple carton of milk. Corny took the carton and shook it to be sure that there weren't any chunks in it. Seeing there wasn't, he opened it and chugged the entire thing with one gulp.

"Heh heh heh heh heh….. Moo," Corny said to himself amusingly. When he heard the door creak open, he turned around and saw nothing. _Must've been the wind,_ he thought as he shrugged it off.

"Wait…. There are no windows around here…" Corny said to himself as he looked around the room suspiciously. "Could it be…. The supernatural…?" Ever since he was a teen, he swore on his life that he had seen many ghosts everywhere he went. He placed the empty carton on a nearby table and started to walk around the room slowly. As he walked around, he became more and more paranoid. When he made it to the door to leave the "cursed" room.

"ARF!"

Corny panicked and ran into the door instead of through it, and fell backwards into a table and some chairs, instantly going into a semi-fetal position. He then felt something wet slide across the tip of his nose and he instantly jumped up. He looked down and saw a light brown puppy staring back at him.

"Why, hello there little fella," Corny chuckled a little as he felt pretty embarrassed to be scared over the animal. He picked up the dog ad asked, "How did you get in the studio?" He carried the dog out the lounge and back to the production area and stopped. Link, Tracy, Seaweed, and Lil' Inez were all across the studio as if they were looking for something. He knew right off the bat that it was the dog they were probably silently searching for. Since Tracy was the closest to him, he walked over to her first.

"Found him," Corny called.

"Really? That's grea-" Tracy's smiled suddenly faded when she looked up at the host of the Corny Collins Show. "Oooooo…" Ace wagged his tail excitedly as he saw a familiar face.

"Tracy Turnblad, what is a dog doing in the studio?" Corny handed the dog to her. "Someone could've gotten into a lot of trouble if someone else besides me was in the employee lounge."

"That's my fault sir," Link spoke up as he, Seaweed and Inez came to them. "See, what had happened was…..

**Flashback: This morning**

Link and Ace came running down the stairs for breakfast that morning. For the past few days, Ace was beginning to learn how to balance on three legs (although at times he would slip up). As Link sat down to prepare to eat his readied meal, he noticed that his mother was giving him a stern look.

"You don't eat until he eats, remember?"

"Right," Link answered as he got up form the table and went to the kitchen closet. After a minute of search he found a can of dog food and the electric can-opener (A/N: Were those out in 1962:/). He opened the can and poured the contents into a blue bowl with the word 'Ace' written on both sides of it. He then grabbed a similar bowl, went to the sink, poured water into it, and placed it back next to the other bowl, where Ace was already devouring the food. He looked over at his mom and noticed that she was shaking her head while chuckling.

"What? I'm new at this!" Link defended as he sat back in his seat to eat his breakfast as quickly as he could. When he finished he grabbed his book bag and placed his plate in the sink.

"Don't forget to put Ace in the backyard. I don't want him messing up the house like he did yesterday."

"Okay. I'll go through the back gate to get to the car then," Link said as he scooped up Ace and his water bowl and walked out to the backyard. There he placed Ace in the grass and the puppy instantly went for the ball and came back, wanting to play fetch.

"Not now, boy. We'll play when I get home." When Link headed towards the side gate, Ace was right behind his trail. He turned around and stopped. "No Ace. Stay." Ace stopped in his tracks and sat down obediently. "Good boy. See you later."

As Link walked farther and farther away from the gate, Ace began to whine uncontrollably, wanting to be with his owner every second of the day. When he heard Link toss his bag into the front seat, Ace became desperate and tried to pull through the gate. He succeeded and he ran towards the car. Unfortunately, the black Chevy already drove off around the corner. Ace, knowing that he was going to go and pick up Tracy, took a shortcut to the Turnblad's residence that he knew of when he ran off the other day. Although he was on three legs, he was pretty fast when he wanted to be. Within a few minutes, and a few falls due to his clumsiness, he made it to the Turnblad's residence just as Link drove up. When Link was welcomed inside the house, Ace, being the talented little animal he was, opened the door of the Chevy and hopped into the backseat. Minutes later, Link and Tracy came outside and the two hopped into the car.

"You ready?" Link asked.

"You know it!" Tracy replied excitedly as they drove off to school. They made it 10 minutes before the first bell so they had a little time to themselves. The couple had a make-out session until they heard the bell and the two jumped out the car.

"Race ya!" Tracy said playfully

"You're on!" Link said as he and Tracy ran towards the school happily. Link let Tracy when to they reached her locker. The two continued to publicly flirt with one another until Penny and Seaweed came up to them hand-in-hand.

"Another minute of your sweetness and I'm gonna start to get a toothache," Seaweed joked. Tracy and Link, turning a light pinkish color, broke apart and greeted their friends. Soon the late bell rang and four separated to their designated classes.

"See you 3rd period," Link smiled as he gave Tracy this trademark wink and went on to homeroom.

By second period, Link was bored to death of school and wanted to go start the weekend. He was tapping his pencil boredly on this desk as the teacher droned on and on about a couple of algebra equations written on the blackboard.

_Of all the classes to have before I can see Tracy…. It had to be Algebra…._ Link thought as he sighed. He felt something soft brush past his ankle go he glanced down to see what it was. There he saw his light brown puppy looking back up at him with his big blue eyes.

"_ACE!_" Link whispered loudly. The teacher and some of his classmates turned around to see what was the outcry was about.

"Mr. Larkin," Mr. Dolby glared down the teen, "Care to explain your _rude _interruption in _my_ class?"

"I was…. Just saying that…. I'm gonna _ace _your quiz on Monday," Link thought it up as quickly as possible.

"Oh really?" Link nodded in response. When the teacher turned around and starting writing something on the board, Link picked Ace up and placed him carefully in his bag and closed it (with a hole big enough for Ace to breath out of). "Okay then Mr. Larkin, I want you to finish this equation and find y." Link rose from his seat and walked to the front of the classroom. Mr. Dolby handed him a piece of chalk and Link started to try to solve the problem on the board.

_Aw crap…_ Link thought, _what have I gotten myself into? I don't know this junk. Tracy's right.. I do need to pay more attention to my studies or else I'm gonn-_

"**MR. LARKIN!!!**" Link snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Mr. Dolby. His face was a bright red color and if it was a cartoon, smoke would be spilling out of his ears. Link looked at the board and noticed that while he drifted off, he doodled a smiling sun and a pre-K style house. He then received a pink slip from the fuming educator. He looked down and noticed it was a detention slip.

_Score! A 'Get Out of Jail Free' card! _Link, being a great actor that he is, looked depressed for getting the card, grabbed his bag, and walked slowly out of the classroom. As soon as he shut the door, he practically ran down the hallway and to the detention room. Inside, the regular detention kids and Seaweed were doing what they did best, dance.

"Cracker Boy," Seaweed greeted, "never thought I'd see you in detention during 2nd period."

"He's reason I'm in here 2nd period," Link opened his bookbag and revealed Ace, looking happy as he welcomed the light once more. Then everyone started to gather around to look at the puppy.

"He's so adorable!" "What's his name?" "Where'd you find him?" "Why does he have three legs?" "He's soo cute!" Were a few of the things Link managed to hear from the crowd of people. Link tried his best to answer all of the questions when the bell for the next class rung.

"Dude, what are we gonna do about Ace?"

"We can hide him in the garden area. Nobody goes there during the day," Seaweed suggested. "The only thing is that we're gonna have to come get him as soon as the bell rings." With that said, Link and Seaweed hid Ace in the Garden Area of the school until the end of the day.

At the first break of the Corny Collins Show, Link, Tracy, Lil' Inez, and Seaweed snuck off to Link's dressing room to be sure that Ace was still in here.

"I still don't get it," Link said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "how the heck did he get out?"

"Maybe he dug a hole?" Inez suggested.

"He's not balanced enough to dig…"

"Are you sure you closed the gate completely?" Tracy asked.

"I'm positive."

"We need to get back to the show," Seaweed said as he looked at his watch. Then the four rushed out the dressing room, leaving the door ajar. Ace, wanting to know where they went, decided to follow them.

Halfway through the show, during a slow song, Link and Tracy were staring lovingly into each other's eyes until Tracy spotted Ace sniffing around underneath the stands. Tracy twirled Link around so that he could look into the direction of the stands. Link's blue eyes widened in panic.

"_Link," _Tracy whispered through her teeth, _"did you close the door all the way?"_

"_I thought I did…." _Link whispered back through his teeth. _"As long as no one sees him or he comes on the stage, we'll be good."_

_**End Flashback**_

"I see…" Corny remarked, rubbing his chin. "Just be sure to never let it happen again." He then rubbed Ace's head playfully and said, "Such a cute animal!" He turned his attention back to the teens and said, "Take him out before anyone else see him. You know how that new guy is. Oh and Seaweed, tell your mother I'll be over around 7:30." With a goofy grin, Corny departed back to his office.

"So, what do you guys think about Corny Collins dating your mom?" Link decided to ask as the four jumped into his car.

"I like him!" Lil' Inez answered happily.

"He's cool; corny, but cool," Seaweed answered as he relaxed in the back seat. "Onward, chauffer, you're gonna need the practice for Saturday night."

"Yeah, yeah.."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Ahh finally, the big date chapter. This has got to be my biggest chapter so far X3 I wanted some Penweed action in here for a while. I wonder what's gonna happen here…. We'll never know until we get to reading it now will we? No more talking from me, let's get this chapter started!!**_

_**Fair warning: I'm not that big of a romantic, though I try. I like writing violence and action and humor over kissing and hugging. So forgive me if it's not all mushy-gushy like all of the other stories, kay?**_

Chapter 5

Link look at himself for the 5th time in the mirror Saturday evening. He was suppose to look as presentable as possible so that the plan to get Penny out of her house for hers and Seaweed's sixth-month anniversary would go perfectly. Knowing that his hair looked as perfect as ever, he turned around and looked at Ace, who was as well looking prepared to go someplace special as well sitting on his bed.

_**Mini-Flashback: Saturday Morning**_

"Link Oliver Larkin (HAHAHA L.O.L. It gets to me every time…), you're not going anywhere until you find a way to stop Ace from running away," Mrs. Larkin scolded when Link told her what happened this afternoon.

"But Ma, I have a date tomorrow remember? Can't you watch him during that time? I'll promise I'll fix it tomorrow," Link semi-whined.

"No Link. Your father has to work tonight and I have to go to a meeting tonight as well." She placed breakfast on the table for her, Link, and Mr. Larkin, who was sitting across from Link reading the morning paper. Ace was underneath Link, eating his food which moved in all sorts of directions on the waxed floor.

"I don't know how he's getting out yet, but I can find that out tomorrow." He then turned to the direction of his father and said, "Pops, can you help out here?"

"Listen to your mother, Link," Mr. Larkin replied distractedly as he continued to read the paper. Link gave his dad an angsty kind of look of disappointment.

"So unless you're going to take Ace with you, Link, then you're not going anywhere until you fix the problem."

"Hmm…." Link put his finger/thumb section on his hand to his chin and thought up a plan.

_**End Flashback**_

Link adjusted his tie and then adjusted a bow tie that he placed on Ace. Hours before, Link gave Ace the bath of his life. After he was completely dry, Link used his old brush to style Ace's fur so that he'd look presentable. Also during the time, Link taught Ace how to sit, stay, come, and no.

"Okay Ace, let's review," Link placed Ace on the floor. Ace glanced up at Link as happy as a he can be, waiting on his command.

"Sit." He sat down.

"Stay." When Link walked away and out into the hallway, Ace, wanting to move very badly, stayed where he was until Link came back and leaned on the doorframe.

"Good so far. Now, come." Ace happily obeyed, tripped on his long ears and slid over to Link. "Close enough!" Link then placed a piece of chicken on the floor in front of Ace. Ace, of course, launched at it.

"No!" Ace stopped before the meat touched his tongue and sat back down, eyeing the chicken to make sure that it didn't run away.

"Awesome!" Link picked up Ace and gave him a hug. He turn put him back on the floor so that he could eat the chicken he was still eyeing. Link looked at his wristwatch and noticed it was a quarter to four. He grabbed his can of hairspray and sprayed his hair once more. He then picked up Ace and sprayed a little on top of his styled head too.

"There. Now let's get rollin'," Link grabbed a couple of items off his dresser and carried Ace downstairs. He bid his parents good night (since he won't be seeing them til morning), and left the house. His first stop was to Seaweed's place to start the plan off. As soon as he stopped in front of the record shop, Seaweed practically ran out of there and he jumped over the car door and into the passenger seat, where Ace was sitting but ended up bouncing into Link's lap.

"Whoa man, you're gonna dent his 'do," Link fussed as he fixed Ace's hair. "Why'd you leave out the house like that?"

"Believe me, if you saw what was going on in there, you'd want to leave too," Seaweed replied as he relaxed a little. Link instantly caught on that Corny was over to spend a little time with Maybelle. He shuddered of the thought of the adults having a make-out session.

"Onward, loyal driver, to my fair maiden's castle to save her from the wicked, fire-breathing dragon."

"Yeah, yeah…" Link said as he drove off into the direction of Penny's house. When they were a block away, Seaweed jumped into the backseat and hid himself. Link parked in front of the Pingleton's house. He got out the car and once again walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. Mrs. Pingleton, of course, answered the door and let Link in. She escorted Link to sit down in the living while Penny finished getting ready for "their date". Minutes later, Penny came down the stairs wearing a pale-green dress and her hair done like it was at the Miss Teenage Hairspray Competition.

"Hey Link," Penny greeted smiling.

"Hey Penny," Link greeted rising from his spot on the couch. "You look great!"

"Thanks, you too."

"Now Mr. Larkin, what time should I expect her to be home?" Mrs. Pingleton asked.

"It ends at 8:30, so she should be home by nine o'clock," Link answered politely.

"Good. You may go." With that said, Link and Penny left the house and, since Prudy was watching them leave, Link opened the door and Penny before going to the driver's side. They then drove off. When they rounded the corner, Link stopped so that Penny could climb into the backseat with Seaweed.

"Hello there handsome," Penny greeted as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They both shared a quick kiss.

"Hello there yourself," Seaweed smiled as he gazed into Penny's pale blue eyes. "You ready for the time of your life?"

"Spending time with you is always the time of my life," Penny answered sweetly as the two shared another kiss.

"Driver, to Sabatinos please," Seaweed requested as if he was a snooty, rich, white person.

"Yes sir," Link rolled his eyes as he continued to drive to their destination. About 10 minutes later, Link stopped in front a small but fancy-looking restaurant. People of every race were either walking in or having a wonderful time with each other's company. Penny and Seaweed got out of the Chevy and closed the door.

"Thanks for everything, man," Seaweed said he and Link high-fived each other.

"What are best friends for?"

"Listen, I'm gonna take Penny over to the park after dinner, so you don't have to be back until 8 or 8:30, alright?"

"Right." With that, Link drove off to let Seaweed and Penny have their anniversary date in peace.

"Looks like I have some time to spare," Link looked down at the brown puppy. "And do you know what we get to do for the next few hours?" Ace answered by barking up a storm. "That's correct, let's go see my girl, Tracy Turnblad." Link spun the car around and headed to the direction of Tracy's house.

Seaweed and Penny entered Sabatinos, hugging and holding each other. They stopped gazing at each other to notice that the small lobby was crowded with couples and families waiting for a table. Seaweed approached the host at his podium, and the host looked up snootily at the teen.

"May I help you?" he asked as if he had a stick up his ass.

"I have reservations for Stubbs," Seaweed answered, trying to ignore the host's attitude. The balding man thumbed through a large book and stopped on a certain page. He then scanned down it and stopped at a certain name.

"Ah yes, Stubbs. Right this way," the man escorted the couple to a table near the window. Seaweed pulled Penny's seat from underneath the table to let her sit down. Penny thanked him and he went to his seat on the other side of the table. They sat there in a comfortable silence gazing into each other's eyes until their waiter for the evening came to their table.

"Good evening sir and madam," the pale-faced waiter greeted as he pulled out a small notepad, "What would you like to drink for the evening?"

Knowing that majority of the drinks served here was alcohol and they were under-aged, Seaweed ordered the root beer while Penny simply asked for water.

"Oh Seaweed, how did you find place like this?" Penny asked as she looked around. Half of the ceiling was painted like an afternoon sky while the other half was painted with the darkness of night. They were on the half with the night sky.

"Link suggested it. And I have to say this is a pretty out of sight place, plus they let us in without word." Seaweed as well looked at the ceiling in awe.

"Yeah, this kind of a place is pretty hard to find."

For the next hour and a half, Seaweed and Penny enjoyed each other's company by talking about their day, what's going to happen after they graduate, and other things they thought up in their heads as they enjoyed the meal and dessert they ordered and enjoyed each other's company. Once they were finished, Seaweed paid for their food and left a tip on the table.

"You think you can hang on a second," Penny rose from her chair and grabbed her purse, "I have to use the restroom."

"Of course, baby." Penny smiled as she planted a kiss on her black white knight's cheek and walked into the direction of the restroom. When she was completely out of sight, Seaweed leaned back in his chair and pulled a small blue box out of his pocket. He looked into it and smiled before he place closed it and placed it back in his pocket. He felt someone knock against his chair and forced the chair to fall back on the ground. He looked behind him and saw that a guy he kinda recognized from school was the reason he was knocked off balanced. The guy gave Seaweed a sneer as he walked back to his table, with whom was occupied with a couple of his friends and their dates. Before he could counter, he noticed that Penny returned from the restroom.

"Is there something wrong, honey?" Penny asked concerned of her boyfriend's slight mood change.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, baby. Let's get out of here and go someplace more quiet." Seaweed rose from his seat, grabbed Penny's hand, and the two walked out of Sabatinos. When they stepped outside, they noticed that the sun was practically on the other side of the earth. Since the park was right outside the lines of Baltimore a few minutes away, they silently walked into that direction, enjoying their rare times together as a couple. They strolled through the park for a couple of minutes until they stopped on a bench that sat in front of the park's lake. Penny laid on Seaweed's chest, listening to his chest rise and fall while Seaweed had his arms wrapped around her stroking her arm with his thumb as they both stared at the lake that glistened in the new moonlight.

"Penny?" Seaweed straightened up in his seat to look at her girl in the eyes.

"Yeah Seaweed?"

"We've been together for the past six months, which has been the greatest six months I ever had in my life might I add," Seaweed chuckled as he held Penny's hands into his own. "I have never loved anybody as much as I love you. You're all I really ever think about and I can't imagine a life without you in it." Seaweed, still holding her hands, kneeled down on one knee in front of her and pulled out the blue box. "Penny Pingleton, will you commit to me?"

By then, Penny's eyes were welded with tears just waiting to roll down her cheeks. "Yes, yes Seaweed, I do!" She wrapped her arms around his neck. They stood up and Seaweed placed the ring on her left ring finger. When they re-embraced each other, they shared a passionate kiss. When they were really into the kiss, Seaweed felt a sharp blow to the side of his head. He hissed and instinctively moved his hands to his head where he was hit and stood defensively in front of Penny. He looked into the direction from where he was hit and noticed that it was the guys from the restaurant.

"Hey there boy," the apparent ring leader called in a gruff tone, "what the hell are you doing with our people? Touchin' her like you're one of us…" Behind him were the two guys he was with at the restaurant. Their dates were in the background, annoyed by the fact that their dates ditched them to go mess with someone else.

Seaweed remained silent and held on to Penny's hand protectively.

"Oh, so the monkey can't talk, huh? Well, maybe he can dance!" Then the boys started pelting the couple with rocks, sticks, and anything else they could pick up. Seaweed dodged majority of them and reflected the ones the were aimed at Penny.

"Penny, I want you to get out of here!" Seaweed commanded as he deflected another rock.

"But-"

"No buts, GO!"

"Be careful," Penny whispered and then ran off.

"Get 'er!" one of the guys said as one of them charged at the couple. Seaweed stopped him be knocking the guy to the pavement. The other two tackled the black teen and started beating him up. Seaweed managed the fight off one of them but the other two wore him down to the point that he was their own personal punching bag. Before he blacked out, he noticed that the punching and kicking came to a brief halt and he heard the ring leader let out a howl of pain.

"Where the hell did that mutt come from?!" the other guy exclaimed. Seaweed looked up and noticed that the light-brown three-legged puppy had his teeth sank in the ring leader's ear and was furiously clawing at his face. Link then came up and whacked the other guys with a thick tree branch. Link went to Seaweed ad knelt down beside him.

"Are you alright? Penny ran to Tracy's place and told us every-" Link stopped when one of the guys grabbed Link by the collar and started jabbing Link in the stomach. Link got one lucky punch to the face and the guy dropped him. Link looked up and noticed that Ace was thrown into a nearby tree; the puppy whined in pain.

"Ace!" Link yelled out but then was kicked in the stomach and face and he instinctively wet to fetal position.

"I don't know where you negro-loving people come from," the ring leader growled as he spit some blood out of his mouth, "but this ends RIGHT NOW!" He picked up the branch that Link had earlier and began to pound it threateningly in his had. When he swung it over his head to bash both Seaweed and Link's heads in….

_**BANG**_

…half of the tree branch completely shattered into wood shavings and it scattered all over the place. The gang turned to the direction of the gunfire and immediately recognized the host and co-host of the Corny Collins Show.

"Corny Collins?" the threesome said together. Truth be told, Corny and Maybelle came running towards the scene, with Corny reloading a rifle.

"I didn't know you knew how to shoot, sugar," Maybelle complimented as they approached the scene.

"I have good aim, too," Corny gave her a quick smile before becoming completely serious again. Maybelle attended her son and Link while Corny stood in front of the three guys, forcing them to step back.

"Is there a problem here, boys?" Corny asked as he held the rifle to his side. Granted, Corny was slightly smaller than all three of them, but with a powerful weapon in his hands, he appeared to have the higher advantage. All three of them shook their heads, afraid that the TV star would blow their heads off at any minute. "Alright, how about we just mosey on back to your girlfriends and continue with your dates, and we'll pretend none of this ever happened. Got me?"

The three didn't reply but just fled back to the safety of their girlfriends, only to find out that thy ditched them and now the three of them were car-less. Corny looked down and noticed that Ace wobbled over to him and fell on his shoes. He picked up the puppy and went over to Maybelle, Seaweed, and Link. Seaweed was sitting up trying his hardest not to fall asleep while Link was standing up but looked limbed. Corny handed Ace to Link and he bent over to pick up Maybelle's son.

"Come on, we need to get him to the hospital," Maybelle said as she helped Link and they walked as they walked as quickly, and carefully, as possible back to Tracy's place (since it is a short walk from the park). As soon as they made it to the Turnblad's, Edna immediately fussed over Link and practically carried him to the couch where Wilbur, Tracy, and Penny were sitting waiting on news about anything.

"Where's Seaweed?" Penny spoke up.

"He's in the car, sweetheart. We need to take to the hospital," Maybelle answered as she helped lay Link comfortably on the couch. Penny broke down into sobs once more, thinking that this is all her fault.

"Penny, this isn't your fault," Tracy embraced her best friend, knowing exactly what Penny was thinking. "Things like this happen, and he protected you because he loves you."

"You're right," Penny whispered as she used her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. Tracy helped her off the floor. "Thanks Tracy."

"What are friends for?"

"Come on Penny, Corny will take you home," Maybelle said and took Penny's hand and lead her out of the house.

"Bye everyone," Penny whispered as she gave a small wave and the two departed from the house.

"Wilbur, can you find the medicine bag so we can patch up Mr. Larkin here?" Edna broke the brief silence. "I need to call Link's parents to tell him where he is." She and her husband left the living room to go find the medicine bag and to make a few phone calls. Tracy sat on the floor in front of her boyfriend and started to softly mess with already messed hair.

"How are you feeling, Link? I know that's a stupid question…" Tracy laughed as herself.

"None of your questions can be stupid, Trace," Link grinned painfully at her as he cupped his hand on Tracy's cheek. "I'll be fine. Nothing a couple of bandages and a kiss can't cure."

"Link Larkin, you're dirty, covered in blood, and your lips are swelling up like a balloon." She looked at him and noticed that he was giving her the pouty face. She rolled her eyes and kissed his nose. "Better?"

"A little…" Link's bright blue eyes gazed into Tracy's chocolate brown eyes lovingly, happy to know that he was lucky to have a girl like Tracy in his life.

"Alright Link," Edna came back to the living room, "you're staying here for the night since you are in no conidition to even get up let alone drive home."

"Thank you, Mrs. Turnblad," Link smiled at Edna weakly. Wilbur also returned with a large bag in tow. Edna thanked him and took the bag and placed it on the floor.

"Don't think nothing of it, dear." Tracy picked up Ace and cradled him in her arms.

"Ma, I'm going to tend to Ace, alright?"

"Alright dear." Tracy waved and blew a kiss at Link before disappearing into the kitchen. "Alrighty now Link, show me where it hurts."


	6. Chapter 6

_**I was working on this chapter the same time I was typing up chapter 5 because it suddenly popped into my head and I HAD to write it down. I think this one is gonna be a long one, too… it depends… I might make it into parts or something.**_

_**I would like to thank you guys for the 2300+ hits and the 30+ reviews. I feel super special awesome because you guys are super special awesome!**_

_**About the Corny with a rifle part in the last chapter: There was a random survey I saw and noticed that 56 of Hairspray fans love Corny Collins, and in another random survey, 67 of America love guns. So I thought "Hmmm…. I should combine the two!" And ta da! I made Corny a 60's goodfella :P I should draw a picture of that… Anyways, onward to chapter 6!**_

Chapter 6

Link laid under the covers on a sunny summer's afternoon. His hair stuck out in every single direction as if he hasn't touched it in some time. He let out a painfully raspy sounding sigh as he let his bottom lip stick out nearly past his nose. In his hands he held a navy blue teddy bear the Tracy has given him for their third-month anniversary.

"Tracy…." Link mumbled groggily as he stroked the velvet bear depressingly and stared into its onyx black eyes. Ace, who has gotten increasingly larger in the past month, attempted to grab his owner's attention by tugging as his bottom bed sheet to shake the bed a little.

"Not now Ace," Link softly pushed the dog away from the bed, "you're partially the reason I'm like this now…." Link continued to gaze at the bear as tears began to form in his eyes. Ace let out a small whimper and went to lay at the foot of Link's bed, waiting for him to get and go play with him.

"He's been like that for over a week now," Mrs. Larkin said to Seaweed as the two leaned on the doorframe of Link's bedroom. "He barely eats, and he hasn't came out of his room since _it_ happened."

"I dunno what to say either, Mrs. Larkin," the black teen answered. The two left Link be, laying in his bed, waddling in his own grief.

_**Flashback- The Sunday after the date**_

Link slowly opened his eyes and squinted when the sun shined directly in his eyes. He tried to shield his eyes by covering them with his arm but winced as the pain shot from his arm.

_Oh yeah, _Link thought as he used his good arm sit up from the couch, _I'm at Trace's house because of what happened last night… _Link wrapped his damaged arm around his stomach as he tried his hardest to rise of the comfortable couch. Sadly, he failed and he slumped back on the couch. He looked down and noticed that he was no longer wearing his clothes, but dark red pajamas that were obviously too large for his dancer frame. He figured it must have been Mr. Turnblad's clothes. He then tried to get up again.

"Link Larkin, I know you're not trying to move in your condition." Link turned to the direction of the voice and saw Tracy emerging out of the kitchen carrying two plates of food. She gave him a bright smile as she placed the plates on a nearby table and she sat down next to him. "So, how are you feeling this morning?"

"A little better since last night. Your mom's a great nurse."

"Oh and I'm not?" Tracy teased. Link just laughed and gave her a light peck on the cheek.

"You know you're my one and only," Link answered as wrapped his good arm around his girl. "Speaking of your parents, where are they?"

"Oh, of course Daddy is in the joke shop and Ma went to take Ace to the vet just moments ago." Link nodded and laid on Tracy's chest while she started to play with his dark hair.

"You guys didn't have to do this."

"Oh Link, you know my mom, she'd adopt you if she had the chance." Tracy started to put Link's hair in an odd style. "And plus Ace needed stitches as soon as possible."

"I'll pay you guys back for the vet costs," Link offered as he snuggled up closer (if it was possible) to Tracy.

"You're going to have to talk to my mom about that one. Come on; let's eat before the food gets cold." Link sat back up while Tracy pulled the table closer to them to eat off of.

"So, have you heard anything about Seaweed?" Link asked as he shoved a mouthful of bacon and blueberry muffin in his mouth.

"Ms. Maybelle called this morning ad told me that he's going to be fine. All he needed was a couple of stitches and lots of rest. He's going home today, too."

"Awesome. Wait, how did Penny get home?"

"Oh, Corny took her home, saying that he was your father and you were in the car, tired from all of the fun at the Church Event that you guys supposedly went to. Penny called and told me all about it."

"That's good to hear." As soon as the two finished their meal, Tracy got up and took the plates back into the kitchen. During that time, Link tried to get up once more; he succeeded and walked slowly into the kitchen to watch Tracy do the dishes. Feeling someone else's presence in the kitchen with her, she turned around saw the dark-haired heartthrob leaning on her doorframe.

"Link, you need to be lying down," Tracy scolded as she placed her hands on her hips.

"But I'm lonely in there…" Link stuck out his bottom lip. "Plus I was getting bed sores."

"You're so childish," Tracy giggled as she continued with the dishes. She then felt arms wrap around her waist and someone else's skin lay in the crook of her neck. "Liiinnk! What if my parents come in?"

"Then we'd be in trouble. I don't want to let go just yet; you're soo warm." Link continued to nuzzle his face in her neck. Tracy dried her hands and turned around to face the man of her dreams. She kissed him gently on the lips due to the fact that is they're still sore and swollen from the incident. She cupped his face with her hand and rubbed his now purplish-black eyes with her thumb. A few mended cuts and scratches were all over his face and his right cheek seemed swollen as well. Even though she didn't show it last night, Tracy nearly had a heart attack when her mom carried Link in looking bloody and beaten.

"What, not liking what you see, little darlin'?" Link teased.

"I'm always loving what I see."

"Same here." The two held and kissed each other a while longer until Link began to go off balance.

"Come on, let's get you back on the couch." Tracy helped Link back to the couch and the two snuggled next to each other watching some kind of nonsense on television. Soon after the show ended, Edna returned with a patched-up half-shaved puppy with a cone wrapped around his head in her arms.

"Tracy, I'm back." Edna said as she entered the living and noticed that her daughter and boyfriend were snuggled close to one another. The two turned around and instantly let go of one another when they saw Tracy's mother was standing behind them. "Oh Link, I see you're finally awake."

"Yes ma'am," Link smiled. "Is Ace gonna be alright?"

"Even better," Mrs. Turnblad went over to the couch and dropped Ace in Link's lap, "no real damage done to him besides a few stitches. Oh Link, make sure you don't remove that cone off his head until he goes back to Dr. Spriggs' office in three weeks. Don't want him pulling the stitches out now do we?"

"We can't afford for you to lose another leg, now can we?" Link asked the puppy whom just stared at Link, wanting him to remove the cone from around his head.

"Link, I washed your clothes so that you didn't have to go home in something dirty," Edna said as she left and came back with the clothes he wore last night. "Your mom called and told me that she and your father are both coming to pick you up around 3 o'clock so that you didn't have to drive home."

"Thanks again for everything, Mrs. Turnblad," Link smiled as he tried to get up again with Tracy's help.

"Like I said before, not a problem."

Throughout the day, Link spent every moment he could with Tracy, knowing that as soon as he went home that he was gonna be forced to stay in bed and skip school for the next two or three days. During the time, they walked around Tracy's backyard, played with Ace a little while, and stayed in her room just to talk. Not a second passed after 3 when they heard the doorbell ring. A minute later Mrs. Turnblad called the two to the living room. Link and Tracy left her room hand in hand as they walked into the living room to find Mr. and Mrs. Larkin standing near the doorway.

"Oh my God, Link!" Mrs. Larkin nearly squealed as she rushed over to her son and squeezed him in a tight hug.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…." Link muttered as he felt every bruised nerve in his body screaming for his mother to let him go.

"Honey, you're hurting him," Mr. Larkin sighed as he tried to pull his wife away from Link so that she wouldn't cause anymore damage. Tears started to fill her eyes as he placed her hand on her son's cheek.

"Oh Link, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, Ma," Link reassured.

"Thank you so much for taking care of Link, Mrs. Turnblad," Mr. Larkin thanked as he shook Edna's hand.

"Please, call me Edna. And it wasn't a problem, you would've done the same for my Tracy."

"Come on, let's get you home so you can rest."

"Ma, I feel fine," Link said confidently. Unfortunately he was stand up too long and his legs gave out on him again; luckily Tracy was still hold him so he didn't collapse to the ground.

"Irvin, help him!" Mrs. Larkin panicked as Mr. Larkin stood Link back up and wrapped his arm around his son to help him stay up. Mrs. Larkin carefully picked up Ace and turned back to Mrs. Turnblad. "Well, we better be going. We want him to get as much rest as possible. So don't be surprised if he isn't in school Monday, Tracy."

"I'll call you later, alright," Link told Tracy as he held her hand once more.

"I'll be waiting," Tracy beamed back at him. With a squeeze, Link let go and the Larkins left to go home.

_**Okay then, so I decided to make it into three parts. So don't worry if it doesn't make since now, it'll all come into full circle next chapter. I promise :3 Review and stuff, alright!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Heh heh heh… New chapter…. I'm loving the 3100+ hits right now X3 Super special awesome! Yeah, I made Link a little sensitive in this and last chapter.**_

_**Oh yeah, I made a mistake in the last chapter… Near the end when Mrs. Larkin said that Tracy wont' be seeing Link in school Monday… that's kinda true… cuz they're on summer break… So… yeah, forget I said anything about school and whatnot. And also, I meant to write three DAYS instead of WEEKS for Ace to got back to the vet…. My bad… typos are a bitch. **_

Chapter 7

Seaweed reemerged back to Link's bedroom and noticed that Link still hasn't move an inch since he and his mother left them an hour ago. Seaweed let out a sigh of frustration and walked over to his best friend. He tossed the covers off of the sulking teen, whom was still wearing his pajamas.

"Come on man, you need to get up!" Seaweed fussed as he shook Link forcefully. Link didn't budge and continued to stare blankly into the teddy bear. "Look at yourself! You're not the Link Larkin everyone knows anymore, all you are right now is a miserable little child. Your hair's a mess, you probably haven't eaten in days, and you're starting to stink up the whole house!"

"Tracy wouldn't have thought I stunk up a house…" Link muttered to his friend. "Tracy…!" Link choked up as he said her name out loud. Tears fell freely from his eyes and he curled up into a ball.

"Look man, even though this might be all your fault, but you need to stop sulking like a little girl and get out there, find Tracy, and go back to being that once happy couple that almost everybody envied!" Seaweed went to the side Link was facing and watched as his best friend cried. Frustrated, Seaweed harshly popped Link hard in the back of his head.

"Man up!"

_**Flashback**_

"Okay…. Yeah… I'll meet you there as soon as possible… No, I'm sure my mom will let me out…. Yeah I'm positive… it's only gonna be a few min-"

"Lincoln Oliver Larkin…." Link's eyes widen when he heard his FULL name be called out in a very threatening way. He turned around and saw his mother standing over him with her hands on her hips looking a little peeved off. "I know good and well that you are not trying to go out in your state! This is the 6th time in two days. Two days, Link!"

"Lincoln…?" Tracy's voice questioned over the phone. Mrs. Larkin snatched the phone away from her son and place the phone near her ear.

"Hello, Tracy? I'm sorry but _Lincoln _will not be able to do whatever you two were planning on doing today since he is still in no condition to be doing any physical activity…. Yes… I'll be sure to tell him he's in trouble…. Alright then, goodbye sweetheart." She replaced the phone back on its receiver and turned to glare at her son.

"Ma, I've been stuck in his house for two days now, I'm fine!" Link tried to defend himself. "This is the longest I've EVER stayed in the house since I got a car and it's driving me crazy." His mother seem unfazed by his defense. He then fell to his knees and grabbed her dress skirt. "Ma, if I don't see my Tracy soon--see her smile, touch her, kiss her--I'm gonna go CRAZY! Crazy I say, CRAZY!"

She looked at her son's pleading face and noticed that his black eye was almost nonexistent, his scars were reduced to nothing, and he no longer need bandages for his arm or stomach.

"Alright, alright. You can go see Tracy this afternoon…" Link jumped up and hugged her tightly. "…but you have to take Ace to the vet to get his stitches removed ad be home by 7."

"Thank you mother!" Link hugged her tighter. He picked up Ace and ran upstairs to change. Fifteen minutes later Link came back down with Ace in tow, looking like his old self again. He checked himself in the hallway mirror once more before giving his mom a quick kiss and left the house.

When he and Ace arrived at Dr. Spriggs Veterinary Clinic around noon, where almost everyone as well needed to see the doctor as well. After he filled out a couple of forms, he looked for a place to sit and only saw one chair, next to Amber Von Tussle. After the pageant, neither he, Tracy, Penny, or Seaweed has heard about Amber and her whereabouts. Surprisingly, they didn't hear any rumors spread about Link nor Tracy since school ended, but they've seen Amber around school with her usual group of "friends". But since summer has started, nothing.

"Amber," Link mumbled a greeting to the blonde as he sat down next to her. The girl stopped stroking her white cat and looked up.

"Link…"Amber greeted back as she stared at the dark-haired boy. "What happened to you?" The white cat hissed at Ace in anger. Ace, who was much smaller than the fat cat, backed off and hid underneath Link's chair. Link gave Amber a brief explanation about what happened Saturday night.

"Oh I see, you're such a good friend," Amber complimented as she readjusted the cat in her lap. Link nodded and mumbled a thanks as the two went into an awkward silence.

"Listen Link," Amber turned to face him, "I'd like to apologize for what my mother and I tried to do to you and Tracy. I was really selfish at the time and now that my mother is in jail for false advertisement and other stuff and I'm practically living on my own now, I've come to understand that our relationship was all false and we weren't meant to be. So, do you think we can still be friends…. Or something?"

Link stared in shock at what Amber said. He looked into her eyes and realized that she was indeed sincere about everything she said. "Uh… alright Amber, I guess we can be friends…. Or something…"

"Larkin?" One of the nurses called out to the waiting room. Link raised his hand, picked up Ace, who was still terrified of Amber's cat, and walked through the door to the doctor's office. There they weight and measured Ace to be sure he was in a healthy state and then led the two into a room. Link sat on the operating table and placed Ace alongside him and they waited. Soon enough an aging grey-haired man came through the door and shut it again.

"Good afternoon, son," the man's deep voice greeted, "you're Mr. Larkin I presume?" Link nodded. "Alright then, let's get these stitches removed off your puppy shall we?" While the doctor, Dr. Spriggs, prepared to remove the stitches, he ordered Link to remove the cone around Ace's head and to hold him still. Within minutes, all of the stitches were removed from Ace's head and leg and Dr. Spriggs wrapped him up.

"There we go!"

"Thank you so much Dr. Spriggs," Link said as he shook Dr. Spriggs' hand.

"Not a problem, son. The bandages can be removed tonight, but take them off in the morning so he won't scratch at it." Link and Ace departed from the room and stopped at the check-out desk. As Link was filling out more papers, he looked over and saw a certain flyer that intrigued him:

"_**Does your dog have what it takes to be #1?**_

_**If so, sign up today for the 6**__**th**__** Annual Dog Show!**_

_**Dogs of all breeds and ages are welcome.**_

_**$3 Registration fee Required, plus your dog must make it through audition to be qualified for the competition.**_

_**Last day to enter is June 10th**__**. Auditions to be held June 14th**__**"**_

"Interesting…." Link reread the flyer before he folded it up and put it in his pocket. He picked up Ace and finally left the vet clinic. On his way to Tracy's house, he kept thinking about the Dog Show competition.

"I wonder if I should let you enter… you are, unique I think," Link said as he looked at the puppy he cradled in his arms. "But what kind of talent do you have?"

Ace then gave Link the Link Wink, tongue clacking noise and everything. Link's eyes bulged out of his head in complete and utter shock.

"Wha-" Ace did it again. "Oh my GOD!" Link then ran the rest of the way to Tracy's house. When Tracy answered the door, she laughed at the sight of Link out of breath and beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"I see someone's happy to be out of the house," Tracy continued to giggle as she let her boyfriend in. Link placed Ace on the ground who instantly ran up the stairs to greet Edna in the living room. For the rest of the day, he spent time with Tracy and explaining about what happened at the vet clinic and the Dog Show competition he's considering Ace to enter. By 6 o'clock, the couple sat at the bottom of the steps in Tracy's backyard, watching Ace chase around mice and other things that moved.

"So you really think Ace will go all the way?" Tracy asked.

"The auditions are mostly simple commands, and he got that down pack already. I'm gonna try to see if that wink of his can get him through to the next round at least."

"Ya know, another special event is coming up, too," Tracy looked up at Link lovingly.

"I know, I can't wait for it either," Link smiled as he leaned in and kissed his girlfriend passionately. After they broke apart, they sat in a comfortable silence as they got lost in their own thoughts.

_I wonder what Link's thinking about for out upcoming anniversary? June 14__th__, I can't wait! _

_I wonder what Tracy thinks about me entering Ace to compete against all of those other dogs? June 14__th__, I can't wait!_

_**DUN DUN DUN! What a twist! They're not thinking the same thing… hmm… I wonder what's gonna happen? Find out next time in Chapter 8, a super special awesome conclusion to this 3-parter!**_

_**Note: Yeah, I decided to give Link a full name Lincoln. Is it me, or no parent in their right minds would actually give their child the name **_**Link**_**. It's kinda weird… so yeah….**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Yep, I'm super happy. You wanna know why I'm super happy? Cuz of you guys and your responses :D Yep, I'm gonna risk not doing my homework so I can get this chapter done for ya. Do here we are, the final part (but not the final chapter :P)**_

_**AW HELL! Am I an idiot! I just remembered that they were indeed in school a couple of chapters ago! Dammit Okay, forget what I said last chapter…. And now, they're on summer break…. Hell…. God I suck Date change as well! It's late June! Yeah… June! ONWARD!**_

Chapter 8

_**Still Flashback Mode- June 22nd**_

"….and now I'm am pleased to announce our Second Place Winner for the 1962 Baltimore's 6th Annual Dog Show," a judge bellowed over the microphone as he tore open an envelope, "our Second Place winner is….. Link Larkin and Ace!"

"Second place, not bad for a first-timer!" Link smiled as he ad Ace ran towards the stage, and Ace tripping over his ears once again, causing the crowd to go into a fit of giggles. He they finally made it upstage, the judge placed a red ribbon with a medal on it around Ace's neck and handed Link a red ribbon and a certificate.

"Congratulations, son," the judge shook his hand happily.

"Thank you sir."

Link drove up to Tracy's house later that afternoon. Ace leapt out the window and the medal he still wore made a loud 'CLANG' when it hit the pavement. Link took the leash off of the puppy that was dangerously wrapped around door lock. The two ran to the front door and knocked on it. Then Tracy appeared at the door and he smiled cheeky at her.

"Hey there beautiful," Link smiled even more and gave her a kiss. "Guess what I got…" he said in a sing-song tone.

"Oh Link I thought you totally forgo-" Tracy said excitedly but he excitement somewhat faded when Link handed her a Second Place Ribbon. "Uhhh…"

"Ace won second place this afternoon in the dog show!" Link explained excitedly to her.

"Gee Link, that's great," Tracy tried her hardest to sound as excited as he saw, but he noticed that her tone wasn't all that joyful.

"Is something wrong, darlin'?"

"Link, do you know what you were suppose to be doing on the 14th?"

"Of course I do," Link laughed softly, "I was suppose to audition Ace for the Dog Show, and I did."

"Link, our anniversary date was on the 14th! And it appears you forgot!" Link's eyes widen as he suddenly remembered.

"Oh God Trace, I'm so sorr-" Link stopped when Tracy placed two fingers on his lips.

"No Link, you're too late for that. I haven't see you in almost two weeks, you haven't called, and you forgot our important day. I'm sorry Link, but I can't be second place to your dog. I think you should go." Link saw the tears weld up in her eyes as she turned around and closed the door in his face.

"No, wait! Trace, Tracy!" Link called out as he continuously knocked on her door, wanting her to come back. After ten minutes and taking the hint that she is not going to come back to the door, Link gave up and decided to just drive back home.

Once he drove up into the driveway, he sluggishly dragged his feet up into the house.

"I'm home…." Link muttered as he walked past the living room and kitchen where his parents were. Mr. Larkin looked up from his paper and saw his son drag himself into the room.

"Hey there Link, didn't think you'd be home so early," Mr. Larkin said as he continued to read the paper. Then he felt something hop on his lap and noticed Ace and the medal he wore proudly around his small neck. "Heeey, so you guys got something from…. Link?" He looked around and noticed that his son was no longer around.

"Is Link home?" Mrs. Larkin came out of the kitchen with glasses of tea in his hands.

"Yeah and he won second place in the Dog Show today," he replied and showed her the medal. Ace wagged his tail excitedly for all of the attention he was getting from the two.

In the evening, the Larkins sat around the dinner table silently as they ate their dinner. Well, Mr. and Mrs. Larkin was eating, Link was just picking at his food mindlessly.

"So Link, I see you and Ace won second place in the Dog Show today," Mr. Larkin broke the silence.

"Yea…."

"Link, you're not eating," Mrs. Larkin stated concerned.

"I guess I'm not hungry…" Link mumbled as he put his form down. "May I be excused?" She gave him a nod and he thanked her and left the kitchen. Ace obediently followed Link up the stairs and to his room. He changed into his pajamas and his fell like a rock into his bed, knowing he's not gonna get up for a little while.

"Is he going to be okay, Irvin?" Mrs. Larkin looked at her husband and they passed their son's room.

"Of course, all we need to do is give him to some to himself," he replied as he and his wife went to their room and went to bed.

_**End Flashback**_

Seaweed came back down the stairs with Ace following.

"Nothing?" Mrs. Larkin looked up form her sewing to ask Seaweed about the update on her son.

"Nothing. I even hit him like you said I could, nothing."

"Well, thanks for trying, dear," Mrs. Larkin said as she gave Seaweed a pat on the back.

"I better be going, my mom wants me to watch over the house while she's gone."

"Alright then, see you around Seaweed," Mrs. Larkin said as she walked Seaweed out. Ace, feeling alone, decided he wanted to follow the black boy to wherever he went. Seaweed looked down and saw the dog following him to the bus stop.

"I guess you can hang with me for a while, since Link is out of it for the mean time," Seaweed said to the dog as he sat down at the bus stop bench. He looked over and noticed a blonde was sitting next to her, and noticed that she didn't move over or is afraid that she was sitting next to a Negro. He glanced back at her again and noticed it was Amber Von Tussle.

"Hey," Seaweed said dully. The blue-eyed girl faced him. The two had somewhat gotten along since Link told him about what she said at the vet clinic and all, but he still stayed o guard around her in case she was really planning something.

"Stubbs," Amber acknowledged. She looked down and notice Ace looking up to her. She smiled and picked him up and placed him on her lap. "I hear they're still not talking to each other. It's a shame…" She started to stroke Ace's back.

"I know… they just need to realize how miserable they are without one another…"

"Well, if there's anyway for me to help…" Seaweed then perked up as he thought of a idea.

"I think I am gonna need your help…"

_**Okay, so I lied… it's gonna be a four-parter since I'm gonna make a super special awesome make-up chapter :D Review and whatnot. It's not hard, just click on that pretty button that says "Go" :3**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Yay, the REAL final part of this four-parter thing… Yeah, I'm gonna make this as awesome to my writing ability (which isn't all that high). So without further ado, CHAPTER 9!! Yaaaaayy…**_

Chapter 9 Part 4

Tracy sat in bed her the entire afternoon, looking at random pictures of Link and her in an album that Link gave her for her birthday. She stopped at a particular picture of her and Link that some staff worker took for them at the amusement park. She had cotton candy in her hand, feeding a piece to him while he held a large teddy bear he won for her at a game. They look extremely happy and carefree, like nothing could've ruined that moment. She looked at the dresser and saw the exact bear Link won for her sitting idly staring off into nowhere.

"I miss him…" Tracy said to no one as she flipped to other pages of them together (and some with her parents and Penny and Seaweed as well) when she heard the doorbell ring. Minutes later, Edna slowly opened the door and walked in.

"Tracy, you have a visitor," Edna announced. Tracy looked down and saw Ace standing happily next to her mother. Ace wagged his tail excitedly and raced over to Tracy, but tripped on his long ears once more and fell on Tracy's feet.

"I'm in the mood to see Link, Ma," Tracy sighed as she picked Ace up and started playing in his hair. "Wow you're getting too big to pick up…"

"It's not Link, honey. Far from Link." Edna gestured the visitor to come in and in the doorway stood Amber.

"Amber?!" Tracy put Ace on the bed and stood up.

"The one and only," Amber smirked at Tracy's reaction. Edna took the hint that the two wanted to be alone and left by closing the door behind her. "So, having relationship problems with Link, huh?"

"How did you know?"

"Oh come on Tracy, you and Link are the most popular Council Members of all time. You know good and well that your personal life is no longer personal anymore." Tracy sighed and blushed, knowing for a fact that it's indeed true that teenagers these days know all of the gossip from everywhere and about anything. Amber smirked, knowing she was right, and sat down on Tracy's bed.

"Link was a jerk for forgetting your special day just do he can do something for his dog, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, but I knew he knew well about it…" Tracy trailed off in her thoughts as she sat on her window sill. "I mean, I don't _think _he meant to forget and all…"

"Tracy, he replaced you with _HIM!_" Amber emphasized as she put Ace in her face. Ace looked at Tracy happily and wagged his tail in excitement.

"Yeah, yeah he did!" Tracy responded as she took Ace and sat next to Amber on her bed.

"You know what, I think you should just forget about Link Larkin all together, all because of one mistake!"

"Yes, yes I should!"

"You should forget the way you melt into those ocean blue eyes of his…"

"Yeah."

"…or the way he would hold you in his arms protectively with you knowing that everything's going to be alright…"

"Yeah.." Tracy's voice began to soften as she remembers how he would hold her.

"…or the fact that he's the almost perfect boyfriend and any girl would be extremely lucky to have a guy like that…."

"Yeah…"

"….just forget about his magnificent touches, his kisses, the sweet nothings he whispers in your ear, the way he snuggled up against you, how he made you laugh…"

"Yeah…." Tracy started trailing off in her own daydreams.

"…and the fact that he's probably just die if he knew he upset you (A/N: Which is what he's doing now since he hasn't bathed or ate in weeks…), and the way he would do anything to see you smile." Amber glanced over to Tracy who was lost in her own thoughts.

_Reverse psychology, _Amber thought as she grinned at her success, _who knew that it'd work for real._

"Yeah…." Tracy said in a dreamy kind of voice and she fell backwards onto her bed. "Oh, I don't even know why I was so angry with him. He was probably going to make it up to me for forgetting. I need to talk with him."

"I think you should, too."

"I never thought I say this, but thanks Amber, I really needed someone to knock me back into reality."

"It's what I do," Amber said, looking at her nails feeling over-confident. Tracy then went up to Amber and gave her a hug; not just a hug, a sincere friendship hug (You know, those hugs that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside :D). "Um, you're welcome."

**ASDF JKL;**

"Hello, Larkin residence?" Mrs. Larkin answered the phone. She listened intently to the person speaking to her before saying, "Alright, I'll see you then. Bye now." She then hung up and continued to dust off the table.

Upstairs, Penny was watching Seaweed shake and smack Link violently trying to get him out of the bed. After a good while, Link decided to fight back and swiftly whacked Seaweed in the eye with the navy teddy bear.

"Dammit!" Seaweed cursed as he put his hand over his eye in pain and backed away from the bed. Link then grabbed his covers and draped them back over him, back into his depress-mode.

"See, I told you," Penny scolded as she looked at her boyfriend's eye. "Go run some water over it, you'll be fine. I'll try to talk to Link."

"I think he's too far gone to just 'talk to him'," Seaweed said as he started to leave.

"You didn't talk to him; you yelled at him and told him to 'Man up'. Go and take care of your eye," Penny shooed the boy out and she went over and sat next to the lying boy. "Link?"

"Hnnh?" Link's voice muffled through the sheets.

"Link, you're going to have to snap out of this mindset of yours. Technically, Tracy never said it was over between you two."

"Easy for you to say," Link retorted as she sat up to face her, "you didn't get slammed in the face by the door after watching tears fall from her eyes…" Then, tears began to once again swell in his blue eyes and fall freely down his cheeks.

"Link Larkin, listen to me!" Penny cupped her hand under his chin to force him to look at her directly in the face. "You and Tracy are still together. You made only one mistake and she'll forgive you for it. You wanna know why I know she'll forgive you for it? Because I'm her _best friend!_ Don't you get it?! You're in love with Tracy and she's in love with you! This is just a small bump in your relationship that you guys are gonna _have _to get over in other for you guys to love each other even more. You can't just lie in bed and think that she broke up with you over something as trivial as forgetting something! I want you to get up, go to Tracy's place, and talk to her before something seriously happens." Link blinked that his girlfriend's best friend in amazement at the lecture.

"You know, you're right." Link finally said. "I'm going to find Tracy, talk to her, and hold her in my arms once again!" Link jumped up and instantly fell to the ground, knowing he felt weak due to the fact that he hasn't moved from his spot in bed or has eaten in 10 or so days. "But first, I need to eat something…." Link climbed exhaustedly back into the bed.

"Yeah I think you should…" Penny agreed. Suddenly, Seaweed ran back into the room.

"Penny, did you know that Link's real name is _Lincoln Oliver Larkin?_" Seaweed stated as he began to laugh. (LOL)

"_Lincoln?_" Penny questioned as she stared back at the teen heartthrob.

"Maaaa, stop telling everyone I know my full name!" Link whined as he yelled loud enough for his mother to hear him from downstairs.

"It's your name and you're gonna have to get use to it," Mrs. Larkin yelled back. She then appeared into the bedroom with Ace running happily inside as well. "Link, you have another visitor." She opened the door all the way to reveal Tracy standing next to her, giving the group a small smile before her eyes fell on Link, who was staring at her non-blinkingly as he tried to get up and get back to bed.

"Hey," Tracy simply said.

"Hey…" Link answered quietly.

"Penny, Seaweed, would you like to have some cherry pie and some ice cream?" Mrs. Larkin asked, hinting to them that the two needed to be alone.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Seaweed exclaimed as he practically bolted out the room. Penny just sighed, rolled her eyes, and shook her head as she got up and headed towards the door. She gave her friend a look saying _everything's going to be okay _and she and Mrs. Larkin left the room closing the door behind them. Tracy cautiously walked over to where Link was sitting and sat next to him. The two just stared at the floor for a few minutes before Link decided to speak up.

"Listen Tracy, I'm soo sorry for forgetting about our anniversary date. It was stupid of me to get so caught up a stupid Dog Show…"

"No Link, I should be the one to apologize," Tracy spoke up as she faced him eye-to-eye. "I was upset because of one tiny mistake. I should've known that you didn't mean to forget and all."

"But Trace, I shouldn't have forgotten!" Link said as he grabbed her hands. "You mean the world to me Tracy Turnblad, and I would never want to upset you ever again."

"Oh Link," Tracy said as they both embraced one another, never wanting to let go. Tracy buried her face in Link's chest, listening to his steady heart rate and feeling his lungs inhale and exhale. Link kissed her forehead before he placed his head in her hair, missing her scent that went without for almost two weeks. The two of them stayed like that for what seemed like hours but was actually five to ten minutes when they broke apart. Well, Tracy let go. "Um… Link?"

"Not yet…" Link muffled through her hair.

"Link?"

"One more minute…"

"Link, when was the last time you even considered taking a shower?" That question made him sit straight up, remembering the fact that he indeed smelled horribly thanks to the summer heat and staying in a stuffy room for a while. He let go and turned a wonderful shade of red in embarrassment. Tracy let out a light giggle and hugged him again. "You look like a train wreck. I'm sorry I made you end up like this."

"I deserved it… it gave me time to think about things," Link replied as he re-embraced her.

"Come on, let's go downstairs," Tracy tried to get up, but couldn't move because Link was still hold her like he was attached to her hip or something. "Liiiiink!"

"Noooo, I want you to myself for a while," Link pouted as he used all of his strength to hold on to her. He made both of them fall back on the bed and the two started to laugh uncontrollably.

Their laughter was heard downstairs where Mrs. Larkin, Penny, Seaweed, and Amber were gather at the kitchen table enjoying Mrs. Larkin's cherry pie and homemade ice cream. Seaweed was reaching for his fourth piece when Penny playfully slapped his hand away from touching another slice.

"Seaweed, you need to save some for Link and Tracy," Penny scolded.

"Babe, they're not going to come down anytime soon to have pie," Seaweed stated matter-of-factly, taking another scoop of ice cream instead. Amber just shook her head as she ate another piece from her slice of pie.

"Amber, I'd like to thank you for your help today to get those two back together," Seaweed said once he swallowed the ice cream he was practically devouring himself. "If it wasn't for you, I think that Link would've wilted away to nothingness. Plus you're the only possible person I can knock some sense into stubborn people like Link and Tracy."

"It's no problem. I had nothing else better to do anyway," Amber replied truthfully as she finished her pie.

"If there's anyway we can repay you for helping us…" Amber sat there quietly in thought of what Seaweed had said and a small smile crept on her face before she spoke up.

"As a matter of fact, there is." Both Seaweed and Penny looked up and focused their attention to find out what Amber wanted from them. "That boy you hang out with--Duane I believe--is he single?"

_**Ooooh diss, I just threw in some Amber moments for you guys! Well, that concludes our super special awesome four-parter thing. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and now we're gonna get back to the other stuff (and heck, I don't even know what the other stuff is yet XD). It may be a while for the next update since I'm up to my neck in reports that I have to do and stuff with all of these finals and whatnot… Yea.. College is a bitch… **_

_**Okay, go ahead, click on that little blue button that says "Go" and type up with you think about this chapter and stuff. I wouldn't mind (uses Jedi Mind Trick)**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Yeah… totally effed my paper… Oh well… at least you guys like my writing… right? Thanks you guys once again, having 60+ reviews and 4900+ hits makes me an extremely happy person :D See, see the happy face:D I did it again! Yay! Alright now, let's get this chapter started, shall we?**_

_**Small warning: I'm VERY bad at describing clothes. So if it's not descriptive enough then I'm sorry and you guys can have the clothes look anyway you want them :)**_

Chapter 10

Link used his arm to wipe off the beads of sweat that was starting to roll down his face as he continued to stir the red sauce he was mixing in the large pot.

"My God, how does Ma do it three times a day?" Link asked himself as he stopped mixing and went over to the counter to have a drink of water.

"I have the windows open for starters," Mrs. Larkin replied as Link jumped and faced his mother. She laughed at the appearance her son was in. His sleeves were rolled up, shirt was halfway unbuttoned, a pink apron was wrapped around his small waist, and his hair that was once style to his perfection was now broken apart as if he ran his hands through it many, many times and his curl was just a piece of hair stuck to his face with sweat. She walked to the stove and observe what was on the large pot.

"I see you're making spaghetti for your date tonight," Mrs. Larkin said as she stirred the sauce for her son.

"No Ma, I need to do this by myself," Link argued as he went to her. He took the wooden spoon from her and continued to stir the sauce himself.

"You really love this girl, don't you?"

"With all my heart," Link answered as a goofy grin spread contagiously across his face. He then turned his attention to the bowl of meat. He then started taking small chunks from it and started rolling it into small balls and then he placed it on a plate. Knowing that her son was going to burn the sauce, she secretly turned down the stove for him.

"Aright, I'll leave you to your work. We'll be leaving around 6:30 so you guys can have the house to yourself." Mrs. Larkin then gave her son a very stern look. "You know the rules, no funny business and I mean it. Not only will the Turnblads kill you, but your father and I will personally murder you ourselves."

"Yes, mother…" Link mumbled as he placed the meatballs into a large skillet for them to cook.

"I mean it, Lincoln. No funny business!" She pointed to him.

"Alright, alright Ma. No funny business." Link put his hands up in defense. He then turned his attention back to the food he was preparing.

When he started to pour the meatballs in the sauce when he felt a nudge on his leg. He looked down and saw Ace looking up to him, wanting a meatball. In the past two weeks, Ace have grown from the tiny puppy that you could've carried in one arm to being almost three feet tall standing up. He no longer trips over his ears since they've grown to the appropriate size of his head. Also he has improved greatly on his balance and he can run faster than a dog with four legs.

"What? You want a meatball or something?" Link saw the dog wag his tail in excitement. "Alright, only one though," Link picked a meatball out the skillet and tossed it in the air. Ace caught it easily in his mouth and practically swallowed it hungrily. "Alright, out the kitchen Ace." Ace obeyed and went into the living room.

_**6:30 p.m. **_

Link walked out the bathroom wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist and he was using a towel to dry his hair with. He entered the room and saw Ace swallowing something that looked oddly familiar. He glanced at his dresser and realized that the gift he was going to give to Tracy tonight has disappeared. His eyes widened in fear as he rushed over to his dog. Ace, surprised, panicked and raced past Link and towards the door.

"Oh no you don't!" Link jumped in front of the door and stopped the three-legged animal. Ace tried to turn around and go in another direction but Link got a hold of his collar and yanked him down and began to wrestle with the large dog. "Open… your… mouth!" As Link held on to the dog with all of his might, Ace continuously avoided Link's grip of his muzzle to open his mouth. Finally after a long struggle, Link pried open Ace's mouth. He looked down and saw a glint of silver that was sliding down his throat. Link panicked and reached his hand down his pet's mouth and caught the silver necklace. One he fully pulled the object out of his mouth, Ace hacked as he felt the object at the end of the necklace come out.

"Ugh…." Link wrinkled his nose in disgust as he examined the necklace. Although it was covered in dog saliva and lord knows what that brown thing was, it wasn't damaged by any teeth marks so Link sighed in relief about that.

"You see, that's why you're going over to Seaweed's place for the night," Link gave his pet a glare as he continued to gaze the jewelry. The sterling silver neck was attached to his new class ring that he re-brought (since Amber never gave back his old one). The dark blue diamond shined when the light struck it and the spit shined too. On the inside of the ring was engraved _LOL and TET forever_. He smiled at the thought of he and Tracy growing old together, with him sitting on the couch while she was making him a sandwich (Oh come on, I HAD to put it in there! I just HAD to XD). He shook off the extra saliva and brown stuff and went back to the bathroom to wash the necklace clean and wash his hands. In the hallway be ran into Mr. Larkin, whom was putting on his blazer and adjusting his tie.

"Ace got a hold of your gift?" Mr. Larkin asked as he looked at the gunk-infested necklace.

"I'm afraid so…" Link replied as he sighed in frustration.

"Alright, well your mother and I are about to head out. Remember the rules, Link." Mr. Larkin said sternly as he pointed his finger at Link.

"I know, Pops. Ma already gave me the lecture." Link went into the bathroom to wash of the necklace; Mr. Larkin followed and leaned on the doorframe.

"Tracy's once special girl to get a guy who doesn't even know how to cook to make her a dinner," he smirked as he watched his son turn a bright pink.

"Yeah…" Link dazed off to remembering about the two of them growing old together.

"I'm glad you chose someone special, son," Mr. Larkin squeezed his son's bare shoulders, "but remember, if we find out that we're going to be expecting a grandchild before you two are of age or married, then I'm gonna have no choice but to take you off this planet."

"Pops, I have too much respect for Tracy to do something that she doesn't want me to do," Link stated as he continued to blush and rise off the necklace. He felt his father release his shoulder and he leaned off the door.

"Alright, we trust you, Link. Well, we're off to dinner and a movie. We'll be home by 10:30, meaning Tracy should be home by 10." Mr. Larkin said as he ruffled Link's hair and left the teen finish cleaning the necklace and his hands.

_**7:00 p.m.**_

Link finally finished placing the correct forks and knives on the table when he heard the doorbell. As he rushed to the front door, he checked himself in the mirror once more to be sure he looked presentable enough for this special night. He wore his best black shirt and white pants and tie for the occasion. Not wanting to keep Tracy waiting for a second longer, he went to the front door and answered it. Instead of seeing only Tracy's smiling face, he saw Mr. Turnblad and an annoyed looking Tracy standing on his front porch.

"Good evening Mr. Turnblad, Tracy," Link smiled at his girl as she gave him an apologetic look.

"Good evening, Link," Wilbur greeted. "I'm just dropping Tracy off at the front door, to be sure that she gets here safe."

"Daddy… it's only across the sidewalk from the car…" Tracy mumbled in embarrassment.

"I know, but I also wanted to talk to Link about something," Wilbur said as he gestures Link to come outside to talk. Link obeys and looks at Tracy who mouths _I'm sorry _to him. When the two walked to the car, Wilbur gave Link a stern fatherly look to him. "Link, I know that you two are going to be alone in the house tonight and I know that both of you are responsible enough to not do anything that went against your parents' or mine or Mrs. Turnblad's rules."

"Yes sir. We were just going to have dinner," Link answered nervously.

"Good. Remember, no funny business," Wilbur said seriously as he whacked Link playfully on the shoulder. "She'll be home by 10?"

"Y-yes, sir." Link stuttered. _Why do parents think I'm going to do something inappropriate to Tracy? Oh yeah, I'm a guy…._

"Alright, I'll se you no later than 10." Wilbur patted Link's shoulder and waved at his daughter. Tracy waved back while saying "Bye Daddy." Link then went up on the porch with Tracy and watched as Mr. Turnblad drove off. Once the car turned the corner, Link and Tracy walked inside.

"Link I'm soo sorry about that," Tracy apologized as Link helped her take off her jacket, revealing a light blue dress that shown off her curves.

_Wow, blue is now my favorite color…_ Link thought as he stared at her lovingly.

"Liking what you see, Mr. Larkin?" Tracy asked as she wrapped her arms around Link's abdomen area.

"Very much," Link smiled as they touched foreheads and shared a kiss. "You look beautiful tonight, little darlin'."

"And you look very handsome yourself, Mr. Larkin," Tracy grinned as they shared another passionate kiss.

"Come on, let's eat before dinner gets cold." Link grabbed Tracy's hand and led her to the kitchen table. He took out her seat for her to sit in and she thanked him for it. He then went to the stove and came back with two plates of spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and garlic bread.

"Wow Link, this looks delicious!" Tracy complimented as he accept the plate. Link sat down across from her and placed his plate in front of him.

"I hope so, I spent all afternoon working on this. I hope you enjoy it," Link said as he began to spin the noodles on his fork. "I also made homemade ice cream for dessert," Link added as he bit into the food. Tracy did the same and took a bite out of the spaghetti at the time same time he did. Suddenly Tracy's chewing began to slow down as she made a weird face while Link ill-manneredly spat the food back onto his plate.

"Ugh!" Link said out loud as he took a gulp of water to take the taste out of his mouth.

"Its…. sweet…" Tracy said as he managed to swallow the contents in her mouth.

"I don't know what happened. I followed the recipe in my mother's book exactly." Link started to use his napkin to wipe his tongue off.

"Maybe you've mistaken the sugar for salt?" Tracy said as she too took a gulp of water to take the bad taste out of her mouth.

"That's impossible because I knew I grabbed the container that was labeled 'Salt' from the counter," Link said as he got up and grabbed the almost full jar that was labeled salt. He opened it and tasted the white crystals and realized that it was, indeed, sugar. "Oooooooo…. I put them in the wrong jars…" Link hung his head low in shame, knowing that he ruined the date already.

"It's okay, sweetie," Tracy got up and gave him a hug, "you didn't mean it. We'll just order a pizza, alright? And then we can have that ice cream you said you made afterwards."

"Err… I don't think we'd want the ice cream…"

When their pizza finally came, Link and Tracy decided to sit on the couch and eat it. Throughout that time, they talked about random stuff and laughed that stuff that thought was funny. Once the pizza was gone, the two decided to clear the living room floor so that they could dance. The two danced to both fast and slow songs that played randomly on Link's records. When another slow song came on, Link decided it was time.

"Trace?" Link took his face out of her hair to look down at her.

"Yeah?" Tracy answered as he took her face from his chest and looked up into his blue eyes.

"There's been something I've been meaning to tell you something for a very long time." Link looked into Tracy's amber eyes and she told him to go on. "We've been seeing each other for over six fantastic months now, and each and every passing day, I fall in love with you more and more. You have practically changed me for the better during this time and I've thanked you everyday because of it. You mean the world to me, Tracy Turnblad, and you already what would happen to me if I thought I lost you. So what I'm saying is," Link let go of Tracy and pulled out the neck from his pocket, "will you commit to me? To be with me always and forever?"

Tracy covered her mouth with her hand in awe as he looked at the jewelry glisten in the light.

"Link, it's beautiful!" Tracy squealed in excitement as he accepted the necklace. She removed the golden necklace she was wearing from around her neck and Link helped her put on the new on. "Yes, of course I will!"

The two hugged and kissed for the rest of the night until Tracy's curfew was edging nearer and nearer. Link then drove her home with five minutes to spare for them I have a goodnight kiss. Then, Link watched her as she went inside and blew him another kiss before going all the way inside.

"Yep, this is the second most happiest day of my life," Link declared to himself, as he drove off remembering the first most happiest day of his life; when he kissed Tracy Turnblad at the Miss Teenage Hairspray competition and they started going out.


	11. Chapter 11

_**You guys, guess what! This story has surpassed my second best story, Stay With You, with over 6000+ hits! Never in my 6,448 days of living would I have thought I'd ever see the day come… Cool beans:D And soon enough it might pass its review stats too! I never thought, to ANY story I'd write, it would beat that story; but man, was I wrong! You guys rock!**_

_**I decided to write a short mother/son chapter. I dunno why, I just want to until I can get to another chapter and whatnot. On another note, I drew this picture of Ace and placed it on my DeviantArt page :D My roommates and friends say it's adorable, but I want the opinions of your guys, too. So if you guys have the chance (or if you want to), check him out. My account should be on my profile page.**_

_**Oooohs! I'd also want to thank Yani Cardaria for being my beta reader (All the colors….) I'm officially called Bad Grammar Girl! GO ME! Anyways, to the chapter!**_

Chapter 11

Drops of rain scattered the grounds of Baltimore, causing large puddles on sidewalks and small lakes at almost every edge. Inside the Larkin home, Mr. and Mrs. Larkin were in the living room, watching the late morning news about how long the rain was going to last.

Upstairs, Link was still in bed; the covers were up to his forehead, and only thing visible was his dark brown hair scattered all over his pillow. As he lay there, partially asleep, he wanted to flip over on his back; but Ace, his dog, was also sleeping soundly on top of him. Both of them seemed to snore in harmony; when Link inhaled, Ace exhaled by making a funny whistling noise with his nose. Link felt Ace roll over until he could feel something resting on his head; then wiggled around underneath the covers to adjust to the dog's sudden change in sleeping position.

For the past three weeks, Link and Seaweed promised Tracy and Penny that they would spend more time together with each other, other than all four of them hanging out collectively. The two had decided to have their "male bonding" days on Sundays. For the first two weeks the only thing they did was toss a football at each other at the park, just talking about regular guy stuff and why their girlfriends were making them do these types of things.

Last week they just hung around the record shop and played music while Seaweed's mother and sister were gone.

But this week, since it was raining they decided to just cancel and sleep in, which was a good thing for Link because he was still exhausted from his date with Tracy two nights ago.

Not that kind of exhausted mind you, it was the kind that was due to running around the fair with Tracy along with Penny and Seaweed because the fair was in town for only one night until August. They got on almost every ride imaginable and played every game at least once. Heck, they even risked their lives by eating the food! Link couldn't help but smile as he remembered Tracy's expression when he was dared by Seaweed to eat the odd looking "Sandwich Meat Surprise". He let out a soft chuckle and reburied his face into his pillow.

Mrs. Larkin slowly opened the door that led to Link's room and watched as he and Ace slept peacefully through the thunder and lightning that was occurring outside. She sighed depressingly as she reflected of how she witnessed her son grow all these years. She knew ever since his first 'I love you, Mommy' face that he was going to get all of the ladies, or as what he told her, be the 'Ladies' Choice'.

_Next summer he'll probably be thinking about taking a road trip or going off to college, _Mrs. Larkin thought sadly. She noticed that Ace woke up and his once limp tail started to wag manically at the sight of her. He stood up on the bed and faced Mrs. Larkin excitedly then jumping off the bed happily as he went to her, wanting her to pet him. She caught on and rubbed the animal's head happily.

"You'll probably be the only one to keep me company soon," she whispered as she finished patting his head. Happy, Ace ran out of the room. Mrs. Larkin then walked to her still dozing son and started to tousle his messy dark hair, allowing herself to remember days when he was a much smaller handful.

_**Flashback (to the EXTREME!)**_

Mrs. Larkin was sitting in a rocking chair on her front porch, reading a novel called _The Great Gatsby_. Her thoughts on the chapter she was reading were interrupted by what sounded like a small child crying. She looked up from her book and saw her 4-year-old son running up the steps, crying his eyes out. His dirty face was covered in small scratches and his light blue shirt was torn at the sleeve, revealing a large cut on his upper arm.

"Lincoln, honey!" she immediately put the book down and ran towards the sobbing child. The boy ran towards his mother and hugged her legs.

"Mama!" Link cried as he buried his face into her dress skirt. "I was at the park, like you let me go, and I was in the sandbox playing with this black girl when these bigger kids came and started to destroy our sandcastle we built together." He hiccupped a couple times before he continued. "I told them to stop, but they pushed me out of the sandbox and told me to never play with Negro children. I got up again, but they pushed me into those thorn bushes that you told me not to go near and it cut my arm."

"Oh honey," she picked up her child and cradled him in her arms. Link wrapped his small arms around her neck as he continued to cry.

"And then they started to kick and pull that girl's hair." Link said between his sobs. "Why would they do that, Mama? She wasn't mean or anything. I actually wanted to be her friend, Mama."

"Lincoln, listen to me," Mrs. Larkin sat down and placed Link on her lap, "the world is starting to become a scary place now, since the war has ended and all. Just like your father, you need to stay strong and fight through this hardship." She pulled a handkerchief out from her dress pocket and started to wipe the tears and dirt away from Link's face. "You can be friends with whomever you want to, sweetheart, and let nobody tell you otherwise. You understand, Lincoln?" Link looked up at her with his big blue eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yes Mama, I understand!" They hugged and once they let go, Link leapt off her lap and she stood up and held his hand.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up and sew your shirt back together," she smiled as the two went inside the house.

_**End Flashback (to the EXTREME!)**_

When she stopped messing with his hair, Link finally opened his eyes and turned to see who was touching him while she was napping.

"Hey Ma," Link greeted groggily as he got up and moved to sit at the edge of his bed before continuing, "You wanted something?"

"Not really," Mrs. Larkin replied as she sat next to him. "Link?"

"Yeah, Ma?"

"Remember, no matter where you go and what you do, you'll always be my little boy.

"Ahh Ma…" Link chuckled.

"I'm serious, Link. You're going to college next year and you know I'm going to worry about you every single day when you do go."

"Ma, you know I'll be fine. I have you guys, Tracy, and my friends with me to support me and everything."

"I know." She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. "And you know that I love you."

"I know, Ma. I love you, too," Link said as he returned the embrace.

"But you know that if you screw your relationship up with Tracy, then I have no choice but to kill you."

"I know, Ma, I know."

_**Sooo, whatcha think? Nothing but drabble! GO ME! Review and whatnot, okay! In America!**_


	12. Chapter 12

-1_**You know what? I decided to throw a monkey wrench into this story. Yep, ladies and gents, prepare to meet the biggest bastard in the history of bastards :D**_

_**Thank you guys for all of the reviews and the 6500+ hits! You guys have made me soo happy! You guys frickin' rock, m'kay! To the chapter!**_

Chapter 12

The Larkins, plus Seaweed, sat around the breakfast table, enjoying the large meal that Mrs. Larkin made every Saturday morning; the _only_ reason why Link AND Seaweed would be awake at 8 in the morning.

"Seaweed, are you sure that your mother is alright with you just leaving so early in the morning just to eat breakfast with us?" Mr. Larkin asked as he bit into his toast and eggs.

"Since Mama's the co-host of the show and all," Seaweed started as he swallowed the contents in his mouth, "she has to go in on Saturday mornings to do extra stuff. And since Inez usually spends the night at a friend's house, I'm the only one that's there in the morning. So I come here, eat Mrs. Larkin's delicious breakfast, and am a happy boy for the rest of the day."

"Aww Seaweed, that's so sweet of you," Mrs. Larkin smiled at the black teen.

"Great job, Seaweed, now we have to suck up more now," Link joked as he heard his father let out a light chuckle as well.

"What? I can't help that these pancakes, toast, eggs, bacon, sausages, and homemade jelly is the best that ever touched my tongue."

"Speaking of extra guest," she turned to her Link, "remember, this afternoon your cousin Johnny is coming to visit for a week."

"Oh really? Which Johnny, Ma?" Link asked as he took a gulp of his orange juice.

"Johnny Jr., Link." With that said, the orange juice Link just swallowed came oozing out of his mouth.

"JOCK Johnny?!" Link exclaimed.

"Link, don't yell at the table," Mr. Larkin said calmly as he placed another piece of bacon and eggs on his plate.

Ever since they were young boys, Johnny Larkin Jr. would travel from Atlanta, Georgia to visit his cousin Link for a week, sometimes two. At first, they have gotten along well, but when he turned fourteen and Link thirteen, their views on the world had differed. While Link lived in a world where integration was the way to be, Johnny lived in the world where whites were and always would be superior over people of color. Also, while Link became a regular on the Corny Collins show, Johnny focused on playing on sports teams such as football and baseball. For the past two years, Johnny didn't come and visit because he was too busy with practices and his parents feared for his safety in the newly integrated North.

"Yes Lincoln, he's coming this afternoon and will be staying for a week and a half. So I need for you to do me a favor and go to the store and buy the items on this list for me after you've finished eating." She handed Link a small piece of paper and he looked at the list.

"Alright," Link said with a bit of angst in his tone, "Seaweed, you coming?"

"Is it a choice?" Seaweed asked looking up from his plate.

"No."

"Fine…" Seaweed grumbled as he placed sausages, bacon, eggs, and jelly in between a large biscuit. "Thanks for the breakfast, Mrs. Larkin."

"My pleasure, Seaweed." The two teens, and Ace, left the Larkin house and they walked to the store.

"So, what's the deal with you and this cousin of yours, Cracker Boy? You guys never got along or somethin'?"

"We have but…" Link tried his best to describe his cousin the finest way possible, "…we've grown apart after he turned fourteen due to… differences."

"Oh I see," Seaweed instantly caught on, "your cousin's a bigot isn't he?"

"I don't know, Seaweed," Link sighed as he ran his hand across his stiff hair, "I haven't talked to him in almost three years. And with the South being so prejudice and all…"

"Don't worry yourself, man. If he's anything like Velma, we'll already know how to handle it."

"I hope so, man, I hope so."

---

Seaweed decided to stay for the rest of the afternoon to keep Link company since his parents left to run a few errands; they wanted their son to stay at home until either they came back or his cousin arrived. For the first couple of hours, they went into the backyard and tossed the football around. And now they were in the living room trying to make up a new dance for the Corny Collins show.

"No, no, no Cracker Boy. It's twist and _then _slide," Seaweed fussed at Link.

"No, it's not! It's _slide _and then _twist_," Link argued back.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Ace was resting on the couch, watching the boys argue about something that he really didn't understand.

"Is NOT!"

"Is TOO!!" Just then both the doorbell and the phone rang. "That's freaky…."

"I'll get the door, you answer the phone," Seaweed instructed as he walked down the hallway to answer the front door. When he swung it open, he found himself eye-level to someone's chest. His brown eyes gazed up and saw the visitor. His hair was a lighter brown than Links, but his blue eyes look so similar to Link and Mr. Larkin's that he probably would've spotted him out in a crowd. "Why, hello there handsome!" Seaweed greeted.

"I didn't know they got a butler," the guy's husky southern accent grunted at Seaweed.

"Excuse me?" Seaweed raised his eyebrow at him.

"Take my bags will ya, boy?" He placed his large duffle bag in front of Seaweed and tossed it at him. Seaweed simply moved to the side and the bag fell heavily onto the wood floor. "What the hell did you do that for, boy?"

"I'm not somebody's butler and I sure as hell ain't your _boy_," Seaweed retaliated as he looked up at the large athletic. The guy just scowled at the black teen as he edged closer and looked down at him.

"You need to learn your place, Ni-"

"Hey Johnny." The fighting teens, turned their heads to the direction of the voice and noticed Link was at the other end of the hallway, seeming to dare his cousin to call his best friend that word.

"Link!" Johnny exclaimed as he went up to his younger cousin and embraced him in a tight bear hug, completely forgetting the little battle he was having with Seaweed. "How's my cousin?"

"I'll be good when I have the privilege to touch the floor again," Link replied as he tried to wiggle out of Johnny's grip. Johnny obliged and place him back on the floor. "How are you?"

"Oh I've been great! Football and baseball have really been keeping me busy. But what about you? You're as skinny as a twig!"

"You know I'm not the sports type, Jock."

"Oh right, you do all of that sissy dancing nonsense," Johnny laughed at his own joke.

"Dancing is not for sissies, it's a way of expression," Seaweed defended heatedly.

"Who said that you can talk?" Johnny snapped.

"Hey, let's just go into the living room alright?" Link interjected as the three walked into the next room. When Ace heard footsteps coming, he jumped off the couch excitedly and went to the noise. But when he saw Johnny walk in with Link and Seaweed, Ace's excitement quickly faded and he gave the new guest an angry growl.

"What's a _dog_ doing in the house?" Johnny questioned as he went closer to Ace. The hairs on the dog's back began to slowly rise and he got closer. "This must belong to _him_," he gestured to Seaweed.

"He's mine, Jock. His name is Ace and he lives inside the house." He had only been in the house for five minutes and Link was starting to grow annoyed of his cousin.

"What, four-legged dogs aren't good enough for ya, Linky?" Johnny laughed, once again, at his own joke. "What kind of a dog is he? He looks like a mutt to me; just like the boy you let in the house."

Behind him, Seaweed was punching and kicking the air, imagining that he was knocking Johnny out. Link silently laughed to himself and tried his best to calm his best friend down.

"Come here, mutt." When Johnny tried to pet him, Ace snapped at his fingers, causing him to instantly back away. Then Ace started to growl and bark like no tomorrow.

"What the hell?!" Johnny exclaimed as he backed into Link. Link went to Ace and tried to calm him down. He rubbed his head and Ace soon stopped barking and growling and the hairs on his bark receded.

"Wow," was all Seaweed said as he tried to contain his laughter.

"Ace, room." Link commanded. Ace obeyed, gave Johnny another warning growl, and disappeared up the stairs. "Sorry about that…"

"I think I better go, too much excitement for one day for me," Seaweed chimed in as he threw his hand to wave. "See you later, Cracker Boy."

"See ya, Seaweed," _and sorry for my cousin_, he thought. Once they heard a door close, Johnny glared at Link.

"You're gonna let him get away with that?"

"Away with what, Johnny?" Link sighed as he and Johnny sat on the couch.

"With, you know, him calling you a 'cracker'! People like him shouldn't be calling _us _that."

"It's just a nickname…" Link then got up from the couch and asked, "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Water would be fine. But Cuz, you can't let him just call you a cracker at anytime he wants!" Link left and came back with two glasses of water and he handed on to Johnny.

"He's my best friend, what am I going to do about it? He's been calling me that for as long as I can remember," Link said as he took a gulp of water.

"Best friend? _Best friend_, Linky?!" Johnny couldn't believe what he was hearing. His favorite cousin, Link, was a Negro lover?!

"Yes, Jock!" Link answered, a little aggravated. "Besides my girlfriend, Seaweed's one of the few people I can trust with my life."

"Girlfriend? That's good to hear you found someone special. Will I get to meet her before I have to go back home?" Link eyed his cousin suspiciously. He hasn't been too fond of his attitude so far, and he doesn't know what his cousin's taste in girls were, so he wasn't too sure if he wanted to introduce him to Trace.

"We'll see, Jock. We'll see."


	13. Chapter 13

-1_**Wooow, such hatred towards Johnny…. AWESOME:D Just like I intended! Thanks you guys for all of the feedback, the 90+ reviews, and the 8100+ hits!**_

_**Don't worry you guys, I'm gonna throw him to ya as soon as I'm done wit him. You guys can use him as a piñata for all I know :3 Now, to the chapter!**_

Chapter 13

For the remainder of the afternoon, Link and Jock hung out in Link's bedroom; talking about memories' past and what they're doing now. Since Jock had been complaining about Ace staying in the house, Mrs. Larkin told Link to put Ace in the backyard for the time that Jock was going to be there.

"The Corny Collins Show, eh?" Johnny asked as he was lying on Link's bed, tossing Link's football in the air. "How come I've never 'eard of it?"

"It's on local television, Jock. You can only see it in Baltimore after school," Link answered as he watched his older cousin barely hitting the ceiling with the pig skin.

"Ah," was all Jock said as he stopped tossing the ball and sat up on the bed. "So is that why you always have that goofy haircut?"

"_Goofy_?" Link looked at him in shock. Another thing that the two didn't have in common were their hairstyles. While Link had his usual slick-back hair with his trademark curl, Jock's light brown hair was cut in a crew cut, as if he has already fought in the war and had come home. "You've barely anything on top of your lumpy head!"

"Heey, this is the new style in Georgia, Linky," Jock laughed as he ran his hand through what little hair he had.

"Well, this is the style in Baltimore," Link defended as he mockingly ran his hand across his stiff hair.

"Ha, yeah I bet." A knock was then heard and Mrs. Larkin poked her head through.

"Hey boys, dinner's almost ready so I suggest you wash up before coming downstairs." Before closing the door, she added, "Oh and Link, don't forget to feed Ace beforehand." When she left, Jock got up and looked down at his cousin

"Linky, why do you have a dog like that? He's pretty much as useless as a cow in a dirt field."

"Ace is not useless!" Link defended annoyed. "He can run faster than any dog alive and he's very clever. He's the best dog that anybody could ever ask for."

"What about dog fights?"

"Wh-what?!"

"You know, two dogs go into a cage, only one comes out. My German Sheppard, Logo, is the best fighter there is!" Jock poked his chest out proudly as he remembered his dog's victories.

"I don't think dog fights are…. right. I don't want to see Ace get hurt." Link shuddered at the thought of Ace being abused again like when he had been just a puppy. The two headed out of the bedroom and started towards the kitchen.

"Ha! The way your mutt growled at me, I think he'll be fine on his own," Jock snorted as they walked into the kitchen and sat down in their chairs. Mr. Larkin just finished setting up the table and Mrs. Larkin placed the food in the center

After dinner, the Larkins sat in the living room and talked to Jock about how things were back in his hometown. Link excused himself and went to Jock's bedroom and climbed down to the backyard. He noticed Ace was lying in front of the backdoor waiting on someone to let him back inside. When he heard something make a loud thump nearby, Ace jumped up and face the direction of the noise. He instantly perked up when he noticed that it was Link and he ran over to him happily.

"Hey boy," Link squatted and started to rub Ace's face, "you wanna go see Tracy?" He wagged his tail in excitement. "Well okay then. This way." With that Link and Ace snuck through the backyard and headed towards Tracy's house

---

Tracy was in her bedroom, writing a letter to her grandmother; her mother had been bugging her about responding all evening. Suddenly, she heard a loud 'clank' against her window. She ignored it the first couple of times but when it started to make noise repetitively, she groaned in frustration and finally went to see where it was coming from. She opened her window and saw her boyfriend, holding a handful of pebbles, and his dog jumping with joy at the sight of seeing her.

"Link, it's late, what are you doing here?" Tracy asked in a hush enough tone for her parents not to hear her from two windows down.

"I know it's late, Trace, but I really need to talk to you. Can I come up?"

"I'll let you in through the front door because my parents are already asleep. But you have to be quiet." Link responded by nodding as he and Ace walked to the front door and waited to Tracy to open it. When Ace sat down in front of Link, the tags on her collar made loud ringing noises. Quickly, Link took off Ace's collar so it wouldn't make any noise when they went into the house. Stuffing the collar in his pocket, he noticed the door slowly opened and the two quietly slipped inside.

"We should talk in the backyard in case Ma or Daddy decides to wake up," Tracy whispered as the three of them tip-toed towards the kitchen. The only sound that was made from the front door to the backyard was Ace's claws scratching against the hardwood floors. Once outside, Ace went exploring while Link and Tracy sat on the small bench.

"So, what's on your mind Link?" Tracy asked as she felt him drape his arm over her shoulder.

"Well Trace, it's my cousin, Johnny…" Link began as he continued on tell her how his day was with Jock. He told her everything, from how he treated Seaweed to how Ace had to stay outside because Jock told his parents about the incident.

"Wow Link, he only got here this afternoon and already he's causing you trouble?" Tracy had a shocked expression written across her face.

"Yeah, and I have an entire week and a half to deal with him." Link ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "What should I do, Trace?"

"Well, honestly I don't know. I never had anyone in my _family _that's racist." Tracy placed her head on his chest as she continued to think of something to say for his situation. "You want me to come over for a visit tomorrow to, ya know, ease the annoyance of just hanging out with only your cousin?"

"I don't know about that Trace," Link said as he started to rub her upper arm with his thumb, "he's been acting…. Sorta… biased towards people. I don't want to kill him because he hurts you…."

"Link, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. Besides, it's not like I haven't heard _everything _before…" Although he didn't show it, he was quite enraged of what the kids at school were saying about her before he met her. If possible, he brought her even closer to him protectively.

"I don't even want to think about what he's going to say to you, Trace." Link placed his face into her hair and inhaled the scent of strawberries and melons. "You smell nice."

"Tracy laughed and said, "Thanks, you smell like a sweaty guy." Link placed his hand on his heart as he looked hurt.

"Ouch!" He playfully hissed as if he were in pain. "I walked two miles to see you, doll. That's why I'm all sweaty." Tracy continued to laugh as she started to mess with his ruined 'do.

"You know I love you." They shared a quick kiss as they rse from the seat and headed back inside. Ace followed instantly when he saw the two walk up the steps. As Tracy walked Link to the front door, she said "So it's settled. I'll be over in the afternoon, okay?"

"No Trace, you don't have to come if don't want to."

"Lincoln Oliver Larkin, I'm going over to your house tomorrow to have a discussion with your cousin. And there's no way you can stop me. Now get home before our parents start to act suspicious."

"They can be suspicious all they want," Link wrapped his arms around her waist and then said in a deep flirtatious tone, "I don't mind."

"Link!" Even in the darkness of the Baltimore streets Link could see the bright red that formed in her cheeks. "I'll se you tomorrow."

"Okay," he gave her a bear hug and let her go, quickly adding, "good night little darlin'." With that, Link and Ace jogged off and Tracy finally closed the door after she saw the two turn the corner.

---

Link climbed back through the backyard's window, thinking that his parents and Jock would probably still be downstairs talking into the late hours of the night. As he cautiously shut the window, he heard the door close, causing him to turn around quickly and face the person who startled him.

It was Jock.

"Where were you?" Jock questioned.

"Um… out," Link simply replied.

"Leaving me with your parents to just talk wasn't too cool, ya know Linky. Was that another one of your pranks? You could've taken me with ya."

"No I couldn't…" Link mumbled under his breath.

"Well, you know me Linky, you know you're gonna get what's coming to ya for standing me up like that," Jock laughed jokingly.

"Yeah yeah, but you know good and well that this prank battle is never going to end, Jock until I'm the victor," Link laughed back.

"Ha ha, you know it!" Jock stifled a yawn and began to stretch his arms and upper body. "Man, am I beat from the ride up here. I best be getting to bed, Cuz."

"Okay then, see you in the morning, Jock," Link walked past his built cousin and left the guest bedroom. He went to his room, changed into his pajamas, and hopped in bed. As he draped the covers over him, he instantly missed Ace jumping into the bed after him and quickly falling asleep by his side. The bed felt empty without him.

_This is going to be a long week and a half… _Link thought as he sighed and drifted off to sleep.

---

When the morning came, Link woke up feeling lighter than usual. He lazily rolled out of bed and stretched. When he rubbed the back of his head, something felt…. Off; out of place. He rubbed his head again and felt that his hair felt shorter in some spots. Frightened, he rushed to his vanity mirror and gazed in horror of what has happened.

Half of his hair was buzzed off. Some patches were long, few were shorter, and the rest of it was practically cut to the roots.

"Oh God…" Link's hands began to shake in horror and anger at the sight. "No…. no, no, no, no, no, no…. NOO! Who the hell would've…." He backed up until he collapsed onto his bed, hearing a crunching noise underneath him. He got up and saw a now-wrinkled sheet of paper lying on the sheets. He picked it up and it read:

_**Told ya I'll get you back.**_

Link read that same sentence at least twelve times, each time making him more and more enraged. He crumbled the sheet of paper in his fist, nails tearing the paper in shreds.

"_**JOHNNY!!!!!"**_

_**Oooh diss, I totally pissed Link off Go ME! (throws confetti in the air) I wonder what's going to happen now…. Hnn… I wonder…. Anyways, review and stuff, okay!**_


	14. Chapter 14

-1_**Wow… much hatred and love for the last chapter. I never got that many reviews in one night before o.O… Super special awesome! Over 8800+ hits AND I hit the 110+ mark in reviews! Fweet! I heart you guys :3 And now, let's wrap this insanity up (although this is gonna last about 1 or 2 more chapters XD)**_

_Previously on _Ace

_Amber: Seaweed, I think I'm pregnant, and Link's the father!_

_--_

_Tammy: No, Fender! Don't leave me!_

_Fender: I'm sorry, Tammy, but things just aren't working out between us.._

_Tammy: But I love you!_

_--_

_Amber: Seaweed, I think I'm pregnant, and IQ's the father!_

_--_

_Tracy: Penny, so you're the one who shot Ace?!_

_Penny: Yes, it was I!_

_--_

_Amber: Seaweed, I think I'm pregnant, and Jock's the-_

_Seaweed: No way in hell!_

_Amber: Okay I made the last one up…_

_--_

_Corny: Do you know who your father is?_

_Link: They've told me enough, they told me you've killed him!_

_Corny: Link, I'm your father._

_Link: Noo!_

_--_

_Brad: Seaweed, I think I'm pregnant, and you're the father!_

_**And now for part three. Wait a minute, none of this stuff actually happened….**_

Chapter 14

For half the morning, Link stayed in his room trying his hardest to hide his cousin's evil doings to his hair. He tried to comb the longer hairs over the shorter hair, but that had failed miserably. He couldn't slick it back because the buzzed parts were mainly in the middle of his head. He combed his hair in a different direction and it worked out a little better, but since his signature curl was usually in the center of his forehead and that part of his hair was gone, there was no way of him producing another one as close to the center as possible.

"Dammit, Jock!" Link threw his comb to the dresser in frustration and tousled his hair as he fell face first into his bed, hearing a knock at his door.

"Link honey," his mother's voice said from the other side of the door, "don't you think its time to greet the day?" When he saw the doorknob turn, he quickly plunged back under the sheets, covering his head with his pillow.

"Oh come on now, Lincoln," Mrs. Larkin huffed as she saw her son still in bed, "Johnny has been waiting all morning to see you, but your father finally decided to take him on a tour around town without you."

"Jock is the reason I don't want to come out of bed, Ma," Link muffled through the pillow.

"What do you mean, Lincoln?" Mrs. Larkin sat on the edge of the bed.

"This is what I mean!" Link threw the pillow off his head and revealed his damaged hair to his mother.

"Oh my…!" Mrs. Larkin gasped as she hesitantly touched his head. "Wha-what happened to your hair?!"

"Our never-ending prank war is what happened to my hair, Ma," Link answered in frustration as he buried his face in his hands.

"Oh no… not your silly little prank war!" She, too, sighed in frustration. "Didn't I tell BOTH of you to stop that nonsense ever since you glued Johnny to the side of the house three years ago?" She looked into his hair once more to see the total damage. She let out a huge sigh and said, "You're going to have to go to the barbers to get it evenly cut, Link."

"Ma, I can't go out in public like this! What if someone from school sees me on the way there or at the barber shop?"

"I think I remember Maybelle once saying that she knows how to cut hair… I'll give her a call to see if I'm right."

"Thanks, Ma," Link sighed as he threw his sheets over his head. _Only having the Stubbs family see my ruined hair won't be s bad as the entire city of Baltimore seeing it. Besides, they wouldn't laugh at me and my situation… _

The doorbell rang and Mrs. Larkin got up to go answer it.

"Ma, if it's someone for me, tell them I died or something."

"Alright sweetie," Mrs. Larkin laughed as she closed the door behind her. He let out a loud groan as he fell face first back into his pillow. Minutes later he heard a knock on his door. "Come in…" he muffled through the cushion, not even bothering to know who entered his room.

"So, you died, huh?" Link smiled then frowned in a quick second when he heard Tracy's voice. Still with the sheets over his head, he got out of bed to greet his girlfriend.

"Hey there, Trace. You're early."

"I know, but it was either stay at home all day and help with the laundry business or come here and visit my favorite person," Tracy replied as she eyed Link suspiciously, pondering why he had his bed sheets on his head. "Um… why the bed sheets, Link?"

"Um… let's just say that I have maximum bedhead… and I'm too embarrassed to let anyone see it…" he half-lied, not wanting her to know the real situation.

"Aww, everybody has a bad hair day every once in a while, Link. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Believe me, Trace, you don't want to see…"

"Okay Link, I won't pressure you to show me your hair. I completely understand."

"Thank, Trace. You don't know how much this-" Link turned around to sit back on his bed when his foot stepped on the sheet that was dragging, causing the entire sheet to fall on the floor. He hesitantly turned around and saw the extremely shocked looked on his girlfriend's face. She made an 'O' with her mouth, speechless at the state of his hair.

"Oh… my… GOD!" Tracy covered her mouth with both her hands, still in complete shock of what she looking at. "Jock did this?" He nodded bitterly. "But why would he do such a thing?"

"Prank battle."

"A what?"

"A prank battle. Every year when he comes to visit, both of us pull pranks on each other until he has to leave. I thought he would've outgrown these childish pranks by now, but…" Tracy sat next to him and began to rub his back soothingly.

"Don't worry, Link. It should grow back by the time school and the show starts back up," she reassured.

"I hope so… Ma is calling Ms. Maybelle right now to see if she can cut it so I won't be too embarrassed to go to a barber shop."

"That's good to know." Suddenly the door was thrown open to reveal Jock standing there holding an empty brown paper bag in one and a bag full of, what it appeared to be, souvenirs in the other.

"Linky! You liked my little surprise? I betcha now your girlfriend is probably gonna dump ya for it! I brought ya a paper bag so you can hide your head in shame for a while! Ha ha!" As he laughed at his not-so-funny joke, then noticed Tracy in the room and rudely asked, "Who's the fat chick?"

"Okay that's it!" Link's face instantly turned a dark red as he shot up from the bed. Tracy held him back as he attempted to try and confront his cousin who was twice is size.

"Link, no! It's okay!" Tracy ask as she continued to hold him.

"For the past 25 hours-- Jock has insulted my best friend, kicked my dog out the house, laugh and made fun of the things I do, insulted our way of life, and destroyed my perfectly awesome 'do; but when he insults you, Trace, that's totally crossing the line and I've had it!" He wanted to yank away from Tracy's grip and start going at it with Jock, but he knew that he was no match for the athlete and Jock would probably just he picked up and thrown down the stairs or something. All the while, Jock was roaring with laughter at his cousin's angst.

"Like I told you yesterday, Link, I can take care of myself," Tracy reassured as she tried to calm him down. "Besides, he doesn't know anything; that southern brain of his is probably the same size as an infant's fist." Jock immediately stopped laughing and glared at Tracy.

"What did you say, Missy?" Jock lifted an eyebrow and his 6'2" body towered over Tracy's petite one.

"Oh, people from the South are deaf, too?"

"_Nobody _makes fun of Johnny Larkin and the South," He snarled at the girl. "You are _so_ lucky that I don't hit girls, Chubby!"

"Unfortunately for you, Jock, I can hit boys." With that, Tracy swiftly connected her foot with Jock's shin and he instantly fell to the ground, holding his leg in pain. "That's for being a jerk towards my friend, boyfriend, and me! What kind of a person are you to instantly reject another human being just for the color of their skin? What gives you the right to call Seaweed those names and kick an indoor pet outside? Huh?!"

"Dammit," Jock cursed as he continued to massage his leg. Link just stood in the background, surprised and a little scared that Tracy is capable of such random acts of violence.

"Only close-minded clowns like yourself cannot see past color or appearance and look at the person as a whole. Just because you cut Link's hair of doesn't mean that I nor any of his friends and classmates are going to just shun or laugh at him for it. You need to get it together, Johnny Larkin-- because here in Baltimore, folks are starting to accept people's differences and it's turning out for the better! So take _that_ to the bank." And with those closing lines, Tracy left Link's room and Link followed closely behind her, leaving Jock there to wallow in his pain and thoughts.

"Babe, that was great!" Link gushed as he pulled her in for a kiss.

"I didn't know I had it in me," Tracy sighed in disbelief as she remembered what she just done mere moments ago.

"Neither did I," they both laughed as Link continued, "but I'm glad you did it. Hopefully it will knock some sense into that thick head of his."

"Yeah, hopefully. Now, let's see if we can get that hair of yours fixed."

---

"BUWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Seaweed laughed hysterically as he saw his best friend's new 'hairstyle'. He clutched on to his side and fell to the floor laughing. "Oh my… oh my… GOD! He totally had a kick for destroying your hair, Cracker Boy!"

"Yeah, real mature, Seaweed," Lil' Inez wrinkled her nose in disappointment at her older brother's maturity. She took a closer look at Link's hair and said, "Wow, your hair is going to be so short, Link." Link groaned in frustration as he imagined having the exact haircut as Jock.

"Yeah, I can definitely see you as the skinner version of your cousin, Cracker!" Seaweed started laughing once more. "Oh man, I can't take it! I can go on forever!"

"Hey guys, what's with all the laughing?" Corny emerged from the kitchen, wondering what all the noise was about. As soon as he glanced at Link's hair, his blue eyes widens and his face turned a reddish-purple, as he was trying his hardest to contain the laughter. Soon enough he couldn't take it and Corny placed his hands on his knees and started roaring, heavy amusement shaking his form. "Link, I hope that you're not going to show that new look off when the show comes back on in the fall!"

"Yeah," Seaweed agreed as he and Corny continued to laugh, "it looks like someone mowed through an uneven patch of grass!"

"Or maybe it's a path through a meadow of weeds!" The two fell on the ground, tears rolling down Seaweed's face as Corny's turned a darker red. "And whe- and whe- and whe-" Corny tried to breathe, "and when Maybelle cuts it off, he'll look like he's about to- to- HAHAHAHA- leave to fight in the war!" Inez couldn't help but chuckle at the joke whilst Corny and Seaweed were trying to get up from the ground from laughing too hard. "Oh man, my sides are killing me!"

"I can't breathe…!" Seaweed panted and he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"Well, at least they're bonding…" Inez said to Tracy as they both shrugged it off.

Link placed his bed sheets back over his head and his face turned a bright pink from the embarrassment as he walked to a corner of the store and sat there as if he was a child being punished.

"You guys are so dumb, you know that?" Tracy scolded as she crossed her arms over her chest. The two finally rose from the floor, still letting a few laughs out; Corny had to lean on the table for support.

"What, it was funny! He's just being a little pan-"

_**WHACK WHACK WHAM WHACK WHAM WHAM WHACK!!**_

"AHH!" Both guys yelled and hissed as they felt a wet towel make contact to the back of their necks, ear and arms. They turned around and saw Maybelle holding a pair of scissors and clippers in one hand and a wet dish towel in the other.

"Both of you are too old to be acting like a pair of immature nine-year-olds, making fun of someone like that!" Maybelle scolded as he rung the towel up, preparing to strike once again.

"Maybelle honey, you didn't have to hit me with a wet towel!" Corny whined as he held his ear in pain. She snapped the towel at them threateningly and the two jumped back, fearing the wet towel of doom.

"Both of you are banned from the house this afternoon until Link's hair is done. Now go do some male bonding or something!" she commanded.

"But Ma…" Seaweed whined as well. But when they saw her wrap the towel again, Seaweed said, "Okay okay okay! We're going!" With that, Corny and Seaweed bolted out of the record shop.

"Thanks, Maybelle," Tracy said, "you know how Link is about his appearance and all."

"Yes, we all do know how he is about his appearance." Not knowing his exact location, Maybelle called, "Link sugar, you can come out now." Link got up from his spot in the corner and slowly walked over to Maybelle. His bottom lip was sticking out and his cheeks were still a pale pink from being laughed at. "Sit down here and let's see what Motormouth Maybelle can do."

Three hours had passed when Maybelle finished cutting Link's hair to an appropriate length to his liking. He had let his hair stick up until he got home to really do something to it. And since school doesn't start back up in September and the show doesn't start until two weeks after that, he hopefully had enough time to let it grow back out and have his original hairstyle again.

By then, Corny and Seaweed returned from their small "outing", trying their best to compliment Link's hair in fear of Maybelle's wrath with the dish towel. For the remainder of the afternoon, the teens listened to records new and old until near closing time at 6 o'clock. While Link was dancing with Inez to a song from James Brown and Tracy and Seaweed were singing to it, they heard the door open and close and Link, Tracy, and Seaweed gasped at the person standing at the entrance.

"_Jock?!_"

_**DUN DUN DUN! What a twist! I wonder what's going to happen now! Lots of stuff happened in this one :D One of my long ones here! I'm gonna have to start up with the next chapter right now so that I can prepare to throw Jock to your guys to be beaten to a pulp :3 Anyways, Review m'kay!**_

_**Note: About the Previous thing, I decided to add a little humor for the angry readers that are ready to murder Jock to, ya know, calm them down before I start the chapter up :D**_


	15. Chapter 15

-1_**9600+ hits and 130+ reviews? YAYS! (does a creepily bad dance)**_

_**Man, what to do with Jock… what to do….? Hnn… well I'll tell you this, you're gonna be like 'OMG Lil Bre WTFBBQ!!!" at me by the end XD MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA So without further ado, the chapter!**_

Chapter 15

"What are _you_ doing here?" Seaweed asked, disgruntled as he stepped closer to the entrance.

"How'd you know where I was?" Link eyed his cousin suspiciously.

"Um… that would be me…" A hand was raised behind Jock as two people stepped out from behind him to reveal Amber von Tussle and Penny Pingleton.

"Wait, how do you know him?"

"I was at home when he knocked on the door and rudely asked 'Where's Link?!'. He told me he's been going door-to-door for the past five blocks asking the same question," Penny answered. "My mom let me out of the house to help him find you, Link; and since you weren't at Tracy's or your own house, I thought that you might've came to the record shop."

"What happened to your hair!?" Amber exclaimed as she noticed Link's new hairstyle. Link, Tracy, Seaweed, and Lil' Inez all pointed to the athlete accusingly. Amber's mouth dropped open in shock as she whacked Jock in the shoulder with her purse. "You didn't tell us that!"

"Ow!" Jock winced, "You never asked _what _the prank was!"

"That's not the point," she continued to whack him with her purse, "You! Don't! Ruin! Perfection!" Jock dodged the face blows as she hit him with every word coming out of her mouth. Seaweed and Link rushed to Jock's aid and pulled Amber away from him.

"Amber, calm down!" Link said as he and Seaweed struggled to hold the blonde back. "It'll grow back! I promise you it'll grow back!!"

"Can't…. hold.. on!" Seaweed muttered as Amber's force was wearing them down. She finally calmed down and Jock backed away.

"What are you doing here, Jock?" Tracy asked as she crossed her arms and approached him.

"I came here to say…. to say… I'm sorry."

" Really?" Both Tracy and Link questioned, surprised

"Yeah…" Jock replied as he scratched the back of his neck. "After you guys left me there, it made me think of things, ya know? It was wrong of me to instantly judge people by the way they look, ya know? Honestly, I don't even know the true reason why I acted the way I did. Seaweed," he turned to face look at the black teen in the eye, "I'm seriously sorry for the things I have said and done to you. You are a human being just like me and I should've treated you like one. I'm the biggest bastard the world has ever known and I'm ashamed of that title. Do you think you can ever forgive me?" Everyone glanced over to Seaweed, waiting to hear what his response was going to me.

"I don't know, guy," he sighed as he rubbed his chin. "You've said some pretty whack things to me…"

"I know and I wish for your forgiveness. But I completely understand if you refuse my apology."

"I guess I can forgive you… but if you pull any of that," Seaweed pointed to his best friend's hair, "I will not hold myself back for kicking you ass." He hesitantly held out his hand.

"Thanks a lot!" Jock smiled sincerely as he used both of his bulky hands to shake Seaweed's small one powerfully. "You will not regret it! I have learned my ways!"

Link and Tracy looked at each other skeptically, thinking otherwise.

"What's going on in here?" Maybelle and Corny emerged from the back to see what the commotion was all about.

"Maybelle and Corny, this is my cousin Johnny Larkin," Link introduced. "Jock, this is Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs and Corny Collins."

"Please to meet you both." The two looked at the guest questioningly, only knowing what Seaweed has told them about him.

"Do you want me to get the rifle?" Corny asked.

"No, no! That won't be necessary!" Tracy intervened. "He's a changed person…. Supposedly," Tracy mumbled the last part under her breath.

"Oh I see," Maybelle said. "Well, if you guys want to stay for dinner, there is plenty to eat." Everyone agreed to stay and Maybelle closed the shop and they all went to the back for some home cook southern dinner.

For the next week and a half, Link, Tracy, Seaweed, Penny, Amber, and Jock hung out together and showed Jock around town some more. They've went to movies, visited the local mall, the park, and many other places. When it was time for Jock to return to Georgia, Link and Seaweed drove him to the train station to see him off.

"Thanks for the fun time, you guys," Jock said as the three of them sat there waiting for the train to Georgia arrive, "I really appreciated the things you guys for giving me a second chance and all."

"Hey man, everyone deserves a second chance," Seaweed said as Link gave his cousin a nod. They stayed in silence for a little while longer until the Georgia train rolled up to the station.

"Well, this is it." Jock got up from the bench and grabbed his duffle bags with one hand.

"Yeah, see ya next summer?" Link asked as he and Seaweed got up and he held his hand out. Instead, Jock pulled him into a bear hug, throwing Link off guard.

"You guys really have opened my eyes to the world, Linky, especially that girlfriend of yours." Jock let go of his cousin and looked down at him to say, "you have a very special gal, there Linky. Never let that one go."

"I'll try not to," Link smiled for once at Jock.

"All aboard!" the conductor yelled.

"All right then, Seaweed," Jock roughly shook Seaweed's hand, and he headed towards the train. "See you guys next summer."

"We'll be looking forward to it, Cracker Jr.," Seaweed said as Jock laughed at his new nickname.

"See ya, Jock." Jock smiled as he climbed the short steps of the train and the conductor closed the doors and soon after the train started heading south.

"Man, this has been one crazy as hell summer!" Seaweed laughed as he and Link started walking back to the car.

"It has, hasn't it?" Link thought back to his life just a year ago and how it was nothing like life right now. A year ago, he didn't have Tracy. He didn't even know Seaweed or Penny, have Ace following him around every square inch of the house, Amber was definitely not how she is today, his once-racist cousin Jock was changed his entire perspective of other people in merely one week, and he himself sports a new haircut (for now that is). Now, he was sure that nothing can make his life any better.

_**DONE! TOUCHDOWN!! (throws a random football on the carpet and it bounces back to her face) Ooooww! So yeah, I made Jock change his attitude completely! But you guys can have the evil bastard Jock (throws evil Jock to the readers) There you go :3 Anyways, review! More is coming up soon XD**_


	16. Chapter 16

-1_**Whilst I was typing up the new chapter for The Wizard, I got a new idea for bloody Ace! Go Me! (does a dance)**_

_**Wows…. 10700+ hits and 140+ reviews! Super special awesome XD Let's begin with the chapter, shall we?**_

Chapter 16

"Fetch, Ace!" Link commanded as he tossed the tennis ball across the open field in the park. Ace excitedly dashed off to retrieve the yellow ball. Seconds later, he returns with the ball stuffed in his mouth.

"Good boy," Link congratulated as he pulled the wet, stick ball out of Ace's mouth. Link playfully taunted him with the ball until he tossed it across the field once more. Ace once again raced to retrieve the ball.

"Hey Link!" Link turned around and noticed Fender approaching him. "Nice hair, man."

"Yeah, thanks to my cousin Johnny," Link replied sheepishly as he ran his hand through it. Granted, in the past two weeks it has grown back enough for him to slick it back to his original style, but his curl was still too short so for the time being he couldn't have it in the middle of his forehead. Ace soon came back with the ball once more, dropping it in his owner's hands, waiting for the next throw.

"Hey Ace," Fender bent down to scratch the dog behind the ears and Ace greeted him by licking him sloppily in the face. Link tossed the ball at Fender so he could throw it for Ace. The other council member grinned as he tossed the ball, and then flushed as he realized it was thrown in the wrong direction. "Oops…"

"That's okay, he gets it anyways," Link laughed at his friend's poor throwing skills. Ace happily raced to get the ball once again. As soon as he made it to the lake, he jumped in, making a large splash.

"You dog sure is something else, Link."

"Yeah, I'm lucky to have him," Link laughed as he watched his soaking wet pooch run back triumphantly. He dropped the drenched ball in Link's hand as he shook himself dry, spreading pond water all over the two dancers. "Ace!" Link laughed as he and Fender backed away from the dog.

"Oh by the way, a couple of the guys are hanging out a little later on at this afternoon and since I saw you at the park, I was wondering if you ad Seaweed would like to hang with us?"

"Oh for sure, Fend," Link answered. "I bet Seaweed would like to come, too. I was going to go over there after the park anyways; we can swing by there then. But first," Link looked over to his pet, who was rolling in the grass trying to get dry, "I'll have to drop Ace off at home." After Ace was dry enough, the three hopped into Link's car and drove off back to his house, not knowing that someone was behind them, watching their every move.

---

Link pulled up to the curve and he and Ace hopped out. He led the dog to the backyard and securely locked the gate.

"See ya later, boy," Link bid farewell to his dog, rubbing his head and heading back to the car.

Ace stood on his hind legs, towering over the small gate, and watched Link and Fender drive off. He let out a small whine, leapt off the gate, and went off to entertain himself.

"Here doggie, doggie," a scruffy voice called to him. Ace looked over to where the voice was coming from and saw an extremely thin looking man standing at the front gate. His dirty face was covered in scars and unruly facial hair. His thin, light brown hair looked like he hadn't touched it in months, maybe years. The man had his long and disgusting looking fingers hooked to the gate, staring at the three-legged dog with his pale green eyes. "You want a piece of chicken?" The man held a chicken strip over the gate and dangled it in front of the dog. Hungrily, Ace ran towards the gate and took the meat happily. Suddenly the man grabbed him by the collar, pulled him over the fence while tying his muzzle with an old piece of rope, and carried him to the back of a car. The man then drove off.

Half an hour later, the car finally stopped in front of an old looking warehouse. The thin man tied a rope around Ace's collar and dragged him out of the car and led him towards the large sliding door. After walking through a few more halls, the man knocked on a metal door repetitively.

"Come in," a deep, gruff voice call from the other side of the door, making the thin man flinch. He cautiously opened the door and he pulled Ace beside him. "What do _you_ want, Charlie?"

"Hello sir, I have the fighting dog you said you were looking for," Charlie answered as he pulled Ace towards the large man.

"This mutt only have three legs you idiot! Do you imagine the humiliation I would face just bringing in a three legged mutt to fight?!" The large man stood up and used his giant hands to grab Charlie's neck and lift him off the floor. "Get rid of this thing and find a _**better dog!!**_" He tossed Charlie to the side as he looked down into Ace's bright blue eyes, and then sneered at the dog.

"Y-ye-yes sir," Charlie replied meekly as he got up and took Ace out of the office and threw him back into the backseat of the beat-up car. Once while he started to drive, Ace looked around for an easy escape while he attempted to remove the rope from around his snout. When he felt the car stop, Ace squeezed through the open window and fell into the street. He got up, still attempting to remove the rope from his muzzle, and watched the beat-up car drive off in the distance. Once he unwound the rope, he looked around at his surroundings and realized that he was in an unfamiliar place.

----

"I'm home, Ma!" Link called out as he closed the door and walked into the living room. His father was sitting on the couch, filling out papers while her mother walked in from the hallway.

"Ah, so you and Ace are finally back from the park," Mrs. Larkin said as she headed towards the kitchen. "Dinner's going to be ready soon, so be sure to feed Ace beforehand."

"Wait… the park?" Link questioned as he followed her. "I dropped Ace off here to go hang out with the guys for a couple of hours."

"Really? I thought he was with you because I haven't seen him all day."

"WHAT?!" Link rushed out the back door and noticed that there was, indeed, no three-legged animal wandering in their yard or waiting for someone to let him inside. He walked back in and asked, "Are you sure that he didn't sneak in and you didn't know?"

"I don't know, Lincoln." Link ran to his room to find out. He swung the door open and saw no sign of Ace in there. He looked all over the house and found neither hide nor hair of his dog.

"He probably wandered off somewhere, Link," his father said as he and his son went outside into the summer heat. "You know how dogs are; he'll come back. He probably went out to look for you."

"If he does do that, he always finds me, remember? But he's never been gone for _this _long either, Dad."

"If he's not back by the morning, I'll personally take off work to help you look for him, okay?" Mr. Larkin grabbed Link's shoulder and gave him a slight squeeze.

"Thanks Dad, let's hope that it's not the case, though," Link sighed as he looked out in the Baltimore streets, hoping that Ace was alright.

_**Oh noes! Ace has turned up missing :O What a twist! I wonder how what's gonna happen now…. Hnnn… Anyways, press that blue button and tell me whatcha think, m'kay:D**_


	17. Chapter 17

-1_**Fweet, lot's of emotions from the last chapter I see… Sorry for not updating sooner than I expected. Finals and holidays have been mad crazy for me right now DX But over the break, I'm gonna try to get another chapter out before I have to go back to class :P And now, onward with the chapter!**_

Chapter 17

Ace was wondering around the streets of Baltimore, trying to find something to eat and a place to stay for the night. Throughout the entire afternoon, people were aggressively shooing away him and throwing objects to force him to leave the property. When he tried to savage for food in a nearby trash can, other dogs snapped at him and scare him away.

It was getting dark and he wasn't used to being out for so long without his owner. He needed to get home and quick, or else he might never get home. Ace looked around the area and saw nothing he deemed as familiar. He let out a small whine as he laid down on the sidewalk and watched people walk past him; but someone tripped over him.

"You stupid, filthy animal," the man scowled as he shoved Ace away with his foot and kept on walking. Ace put his tail in between his legs and backed off into a nearby alley. There, he continued to watch pedestrians walk past him until a small child stopped in front of him and stared.

"Look Daddy, a three-legged dog!" he pointed at him. Then a tall man came up behind him. "He looks hungry, can we take him home and help him?"

"You know we can't keep him, Jimmy," his father sighed as he took his son's hand and tried to drag him away.

"But he looks lost, Daddy! See, he has a collar and everything. He must belong to somebody…" Jimmy's father cautiously approached Ace and glanced at the dog's tag.

"Indeed, he belongs to this Larkin family that lives on the other side of town. That name seems familiar though…" He looked at Ace who was staring back at him with pleading eyes. "Alright, we can take him in, but we're going to have to find," he rechecked the collar, "Ace's home tomorrow, alright?"

"Yay, we got a dog for a day!" Jimmy cheered as he rushed to Ace and started to scratch behind his ears. Ace wagged his tail in acceptance as he followed Jimmy and his father to their home.

----------

Meanwhile, Link couldn't sleep that night, once again; his bed felt empty without Ace's dog saliva moistening the bed sheets. He tossed and turned and threw the sheets to the floor in frustration. He sat up on the bed, put on his shoes and a jacket, and left his bedroom. He quietly walked down the hallway, not wanting to walk his parents up. Once he made it past the living room, he slowly opened the door to the outside world, slid out into the darkness, and silently closed it. He started to unconsciously stroll down the sidewalk until he was at the corner of the Hardy-Har Hut. He looked at Tracy's window and noticed that her lights were off. He peered through the living room window and saw she was in there, sitting on the couch reading a book. Link tapped on the window to catch her attention. She got up and went to the front door.

"Link, what's wrong?" Tracy asked concerned and confused by her boyfriend's actions as she closed the door behind them.

"Ace disappeared this afternoon and he hasn't shown up yet and I can't sleep because I'm so used to him snoring with me and now I hate being alone in bed at night so I want to visit you for a little while, if that's okay?" Link answered, ramming his sentences together while running his hand through his already unkempt short hair.

"Ace is gone?" Tracy asked, shocked at the news.

"I would've told you earlier, but I thought he would've come home by then and I didn't want anyone to worry about it…"

"Come here," Tracy pulled her boyfriend into a tight hug. "Things like this happen all the time, Link. Ace will come back soon enough. Come on, I'll get us something to drink." Tracy grabbed Link's hand and led him to the living room. She disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared moments later with two glasses of lemonade and a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

"Thanks, Trace," Link said gratefully as he gulped his drink and devoured the cookies. "I just hope he's okay…"

"He will be," Tracy reassured as she brought him into another embrace. "I can help you look tomorrow if he doesn't show by the morning, okay?"

"Thanks Trace. You don't know how much this means to me hearing it from you."

"Tracy Edna Turnblad!" The two teens instantly released each other and looked up to Mrs. Turnblad. "Do you two know what time it is? Coming to visit without our consent? Does this happen every night, Mr. Larkin?!"

"I'm sorry ma'am," Link apologized as she stared at the floor. "I wouldn't disobey you or my parents if it wasn't something important."

"Oh really? What's so important that you had to come over at ungodly hours of the night in your pajamas?" Edna demanded as she placed her hands on her hips.

"You see, Ace disappear this afternoon and…"

"Ace ran away?" Mrs. Turnblad interrupted in concern. "You don't know what happened to him?" Link shook his head. "Well then, you can stay a while longer, Link. I'll fix us something to eat."

"Thank you, Mrs. Turnblad," Link replied with a meek smile as he grabbed Tracy's hand and squeezed it gently.

He stayed for another hour until he decided to head home just in case his mother would come up and check on him to see if he was alright. Once he made it back home, he quietly as possible closed the front door and snuck back into his bedroom. He closed his door and sighed in relief that he didn't get caught for the first time in his life, and then fell back into his bed.

_Tomorrow will be better… I hope, _he sighed as he drifted off into another dreamless slumber.

----

"Honey, we're back!" Jimmy's father called out as the two and Ace entered the house. "We have a small surprise, too!"

"What is it Jack?" Jimmy's mother came into the living room. She jumped when she saw Ace sitting on the living room rug. "My lord, Jack! A dog?!"

"He's only staying for one night, Mama," Jimmy explained as he kneeled down to pet Ace. "We're gonna find his owner in the morning. Can he stay in my room, can he, huh?"

"I don't know, Jimmy… he should sleep outside tonight…" His mother looked at her son.

"What's all of the commotion?" a teenage female came downstairs, curious of what her mother was screaming about. She instantly noticed the three-legged dog and she shrieked. "Oh my gosh, is that _Ace_?!"

"That's what it says on the collar," Jack replied.

Eyeing his older sister, Jimmy asked "How'd you know that, Katie?"

"This is Link Larkin's dog. I read it on his bio that he just adopted a puppy over the summer and he has three legs and bright blue eyes, just like Link Larkin's eyes himself," Katie explained dreamily. "Besides Brad and I.Q., Link is my favorite dancer on the show!"

"Ugh, he's on that stupid dancing show? No wonder Ace ran away!" Jimmy dodged his sister's swing that targeted his arm and ran behind his father. She scoffed at her brother and started to focus her attention on the three-legged dog.

"Although he's missing a limb, he is so adorable!" she cooed as she started to rub his stomach nonchalantly.

"Come on now," their mother announced, "let's wash our hands and get ready for dinner."

"Yes Mother," Jimmy and Katie said together as they left the living room, pushing and shoving one another on the way.

"Jack," she turned to her husband, "what were you thinking of bringing this animal into my clean home?"

"It's just for the night, Mary," he replied as he undid his tie and took off his jacket, "besides, he wouldn't do any harm. He's a three legged dog of goodness sake. We're gonna return him in the morning."

----

The following morning, Link and Mr. Larkin woke up bright and early to start their search for Ace.

"Alright Link, where do you think Ace would show up?" Mr. Larkin asked.

"He's usually with me, meaning that he could be anywhere, Pops," Link sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't worry, boy. Just look around your friends' houses and I'll look at the park and that studio, alright?"

"Alright," Link agreed as he started to head in the direction of Tracy's house while his father drove off in his car. Once there, he knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Well, good morning, Link," Wilbur answered the door and greeted the teen.

"Morning Mr. Turnblad," he greeted back. "Is Tracy awake?"

"Yeah, she's inside. Heard that Ace disappeared yesterday, yes?"

"Yes, sir."

"Come on in, son," Wilbur let Link inside. "He'll turn up soon, I promise you that."

"Thanks Mr. Turnblad. It's good to hear that from ya."

"Not a problem, young man. You know you can always come to me to cheer ya up." He led the teen into the living room and told him to sit, but Link decided he would rather stand. "Tracy ought to be down in a few minutes. You know how women are with their makeup," Wilbur joked as he went into the kitchen.

"Hey Link," Tracy called as she emerged into the room. He turned around and embraced her.

"Hey there, darlin'," he hugged back, "you ready to go?"

"Erm… about today, Link," Tracy let out a huge sigh as she stared into his blue eyes, "I got a call this morning from the Hefty Hideaway and they want me to go down there to do a brief promoting shoot in an hour and…"

"Oh," was all he could say, but tried not to look disappointed.

"I'm so sorry, if there was any way for me to change to a later time I would…"

"Don't fret about it, Trace," Link assured, holding her hands into his own, "I don't want you to put your job at risk because of me, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed as she got on her tiptoes to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek. "But I'll be keeping an eye out for him while I'm working, okay?"

"Thanks, babe," Link smiled as they shared a quick kiss. "I gotta pick Seaweed up, so I'll see you later?"

"Of course!" And with a wink, Link left the Turnblad's house and went on to gather more of the council members.

For the rest of the day, Link, Seaweed, Stooie, Brad, Fender, and Duane searched for the three-legged canine. When the evening struck, the six of them returned to Link's place and announced that neither of them could find him. Mr. Larking returned earlier than that and reported nothing as well. After they shared their condolences and a snack courtesy of Mrs. Larkin, all but Seaweed departed from the Larkin residence.

"Don't worry Link," Seaweed gave his friend a pat on the back, "Ace is a smart dog. He'll show up. He's probably fine, ya know?"

"I hope so- wait a second," Link looked at his friend, "did you just call me by my real name?"

"Actually, I called you by your sub-name, Mr. Lincoln," Seaweed laughed as he pinched Link's cheek. Link retaliated by slapping his hand away.

"Whatever!" The two laughed as they play punched each other. "Don't be going around saying my name out loud, someone might hear you."

"Whatever you say, Lincoln." Link pushed him as he continued to laugh. "Changing subjects, let's go over to Tracy's place or something, so that you can ease your mind from this entire Ace thing, alright?"

"Okay, let's go then." The two friends got up and left.

_**Done! Yay! Well, you guys know the drill, tell me your thoughts. And don't worry, things will be better next chapter :D**_


	18. Chapter 18

-1_**Wow… 160 reviews and 15,000 hits! Fweet! Don't worry, Ace will be coming home… soon… maybe… Anyways, CHAPTER**_

Chapter 18

The following afternoon, Jimmy, Jack, and Katie, along with Ace, all gathered into the family car and started to drive across town to return the lost dog.

"Dad, do we really have to return Ace?" Jimmy asked from the backseat, holding on to Ace, who's head was sticking out the window. "Can't we get this Link guy a new dog and we keep him?"

"Sorry Jim, but he's not ours. One day you might be able to get a dog for yourself," his father answered as he turned around briefly to give him a small smile.

"It would real swell if I get to meet Link in the flesh," Katie squealed at the thought of meeting one of her favorite dancers.

"Ew, you're still thinking about _kissing_ him?" Jimmy teased as he started making kissing noises. She turned around and gave her little brother a mean glare before turning back around in a huff, crossing her arms around her chest.

"Why did you even consider having a son?" she asked her father. Jack just laughed and shook his head. "Where are we going first, Daddy?"

"We're going to go to that WYZT studio where that show of yours is aired first. He's probably there doing all of that ridiculous dancing…"

----

Link and Seaweed decided, and miraculously were able, to pick up Penny along the way to the Turnblad's. The four decided to go see a movie to get Link's mind off of his predicament. The sun was starting to set when they finally made it to the drive-thru. They, after 15 minutes of arguing, finally decided on "The Manchurian Candidate". Halfway through the movie, Seaweed and Penny began to make out in the back seat while Link and Tracy just cuddled in the front and tried to ignore the noises in the back and watched the movie. Link idly played with stray strains of her hair while she laid on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"You know," Link broke their silence, "we should actually watch these movie-things every once in a while instead of eating each other's faces."

"Yeah," she giggled, catching onto the joke, "they're actually quite entertaining. Since we do pay to get in all the time and not know what happened…"

"I know right!" Link chuckled as they shared a small kiss. "They do tend to be quite entertaining." They enjoyed the movie, while their friends continued their make-out session.

"Link," Tracy got up to face her boyfriend, "I know that you're still stressing about Ace, even though you're telling us that you're having a good time and you're fine."

"Why is it that you know me better than I do?" he smiled as they shared another kiss. "I'll be fine. I have faith in my three-legged mongrel. I betcha he's safe somewhere."

----

"Dad, are we there yet?" Jimmy complained as Ace rested on his lap. "We've been driving for hours. I don't think his house is _that_ far away."

"Yeah Daddy, it's nearly dark out," Katie added.

"We're just a little lost is all," Jack replied as he stopped in front of a record shop. "We'll just ask for directions in that store and from there, we can figure out how to get here." He looked out the window and notices that the neighborhood they werein was mainly black and they were being stared at. "Erm, keep the doors lock, okay?" He got out of the car and walked into the record shop. Inside, black teens and children were all dancing to the music that was echoing throughout the place. The dancing suddenly stopped to find the white man entering the store.

"Hi," a girl around fourteen approached him, "can I help you with anything?"

"Yes you can. See we're lost and we were wondering how to get to this address," he explained as he pulled a piece of paper with Link's address on it. The girl took the paper and looked at the address.

"Hey, this is Link's house," the girl remembered. "My mama should know the directions. Hang on a second." She rushed back into the back and came back with Maybelle in tow.

"So, you're looking for the Larkins?" Maybelle asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yes ma'am," he answered politely. "You see, we found his dog yesterday and so we kept him at our place until today and we've been lost for hours…."

"You guys found Ace?!" Inez jumped in excitement.

"That's great. Link's been worried sick about his dog," Maybelle added.

"And we'll be delighted to return him to his owner," Jack chuckled. "He's quite the handful, but we're thinking of getting one for our son."

"This is great news. Come on outside so I can give you the directions. It's a little noisy in here." The three of them stepped back outside and Maybelle show him how to get to Link's house while Inez and Jimmy played with Ace for a while.

"Thank you so much, ma'am."

"Not a problem. Come back anytime." With those parting words, Jack, Jimmy, and Ace got back into the car and drove off.

----

After the movie, Link dropped off Penny and Seaweed into their respective houses, leaving Tracy and him in his car in front of her house.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Tracy's big brown eyes stared into Link's blue ones.

"I will be, I promise," Link answered, holding her small hands into his large ones. "You can't be worrying about me like this, Trace. I'll be fine."

"You loved Ace as if he was your child. He'll show up. Be sure to call me on any updates, okay?"

"You always know what to say, Trace," Link smiled as they kissed. "I really want you to stay, but," he points to the window and sees Edna looking at them, "I think your mom wants you to come in before she gets suspicious."

"Ugh," Tracy rolled her eyes. "We've been dating for over six months and she _still _doesn't trust us alone together."

Link laughed and then said, "I don't blame her. I wouldn't want our daughter out in a car somewhere with some boy."

"But what if we had a son?"

"Eh, he'll be okay." Tracy smacked her lips and playfully whacked her dark-haired boyfriend in the chest.

"You're ridiculous," she laughed. She kissed him on the nose and said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I can't wait," he smiled as he watched her get out of the car and walk towards her doorstep. She unlocked the door, turned around and blew another kiss at him before going inside, closing the door behind her. He ran his hand through his stiff hair and cranked his car and drove off. But instead of driving in the direction of his house, he headed towards the park.

----

"Are we lost again?" Katie asked as she looks out at the unfamiliar area.

"Maybe…" Jack answered. He muttered to himself, "I should've written those directions down…"

"Okay, we're near the park that's for sure," she stated as she looked out her window.

"I'm hungry," Jimmy interrupted. "Can we go someplace and get something to eat?"

"Yeah and we should call your mother, too," Jack answered as all four of them got out of the car. Once Ace jumped out the car, he spotted a familiar face walking along the sidewalk with his head hung low. He attempted to run towards him but the leash he was on was jerked back by the small child.

"Whoa! Ace!" Jimmy yelped as he almost fell on his feet. His father grabbed the leash for him and tried to hold him down.

"He probably saw a squirrel or something." Ace started to whine as he watched his owner walk down by the lake. In one swift motion, Ace slipped out of his collar and raced towards the figure. "Oh shucks! We got to get him back, we didn't come all this way just to lose him." Then the three of them ran down to retrieve him.

Meanwhile, Link sat at the edge of the lake, throwing rocks and pebbles into it.

"It seems like yesterday, he was catching the tennis ball…" Link mumbled, sighing as he threw another rock into the lake. He heard other barks of dogs in the park and it only made him even more depressed. "Ugh, why did I even come here?" As he was turning around to get up to leave, he spotted the three-legged animal running towards him at a high rate of speed. Being extremely clumsy, Ace tripped over nothing and knocked into the teen, both of them falling into the lake with a huge splash. Once they both recovered from the impact, Link embraced the pooch.

"I can't believe you.. Where were…? How did…?!" He couldn't even finish his sentences he was so excited to see his dog again.

"Ace!" Jimmy cried out as he and his family approached the lake.

"Oh my God! Link Larkin!" Katie squealed and tried her hardest to contain her excitement. Link and Ace got out of the lake and walked up to them.

"Did you guys find my dog for me?" Link asked as he continuously wiped the water from his eyes. Ace was behind him trying to shake dry and getting him and Jimmy wet.

"My son and I found him scared in an alley," Jack explained. "We kept him in our house for the night and we've been searching all day for your house."

"You don't know how much I appreciate this, sir," Link gushed as he shook Jack's hand. "I've been worried sick about him when he disappeared a couple of nights ago." He went over to Katie, shook her hand and said, "you all have been great help."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEH!" was all she said as she jumped on him in a tight hug. Link, taken aback by the response, awkwardly returned the hug as she continued to hold onto him.

"I don't want him to go," Jimmy complained as he stroked the wet dog.

"I wish there was a way to thank you," Link scratched his soaked head. "I know," Link snapped his fingers, "how's about I treat you all to a late dinner to show you my thanks for finding my pet."

"You don't have to, son," Jack gave Link a pat on the shoulder and helped him remove his daughter.

"Let's the least I can do. Just let me get a clean and dry pair of clothes and we'll be on the way. If you can follow me to my house, we can start from there."

For the rest of the night, the Larkins and the Wilsons sat around the a dinner booth in a diner, enjoying each other's company and chatting the night away. Katie couldn't take her eyes off of Link and Jimmy was talking to Link about cars and his career. Ace sat underneath the table, eating up the scraps and Link and Jimmy "accidentally" drop to the floor.

_**W00t! I finally finished up that depressing mini-saga! Now it's going back to the insanity of the misadventures of Link… or something like that. So yeah, you guys know what to do :3 Thanks for reading!**_


End file.
